The director of the next Resident Evil installment has acknowledged the game’s highly explicit violence, but is adamant that the gore is not amplified for shock value.
Koshi Nakanishi told Automaton that Resident Evil Requiem will only be launching in Japan with a CERO Z rating (for ages 18 and above).
This is significant because many previous Resident Evil titles shipped with multiple variants – with varying levels of gore – based on the CERO rating system. For example, many of the past titles have typically had D and Z versions.
Please note: Resident Evil Requiem is rated CERO Z in Japan, the country’s highest age classification.
(Source: CERO)
Nakanishi said that Requiem will not see a toned-down version, however.
“Since the Resident Evil 4 remake, we’ve gone with releasing a CERO Z version only, so this time we’re basically following that same approach,” he said.
“The footage shown at the recent showcase was also entirely from the domestic CERO Z version for Japan.”
The director even admitted that the game can sometimes seem extreme even for a CERO Z rating.
“There are even moments where you might think, ‘Wait, this still counts as CERO Z?’, so I’d say we’re actually pushing ourselves more than people might expect,” he said.
Nakanishi never intended on being gratuitous with the levels of bloodshed, however.
“That said, it’s not that we want to make things gruesome for the sake of it, but when depicting shocking scenes or tense battles, a certain level of that kind of expression is necessary. We also want players to fully experience the direction and presentation without holding anything back.”
Resident Evil Requiem will launch on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam on February 27th, 2026.
Check out more Resident Evil content
Capcom’s financials soar thanks to Resident Evil and Street Fighter
Resident Evil Requiem director confirms ‘this isn’t an open-world game’
Capcom debuts footage of Resident Evil 7 and Village on Switch 2 during livestream
Leave a Comment
Written by Reece Heather
A veteran Zelda Universe editor and First-class journalism graduate, Reece emerged with a Nintendo 64 and a lifelong obsession after a narrow escape from Santa’s Naughty List in 1998. Outside of games, he’s reading Punisher comics, being bossed around by his cocker spaniel, and cornering innocent bystanders to rant about the importance of game preservation.
