The coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on the gaming industry since its initial global outbreak earlier in 2020, resulting in annual events such as E3 and BlizzCon seeing cancellations and events such as Summer Game Fest and IGN's Summer of Gaming appearing in their absence.
As multiple games have seen delays as developers transition to working from home, some creative minds within the industry, such as Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, have seen inspiration from how the world has reacted to countering the virus.
Speaking to IGN, Mikami gave an interview in which he commented on his upcoming project from Tango Gameworks, Ghostwire: Tokyo, which debuted at Bethesda's E3 press conference in 2019. However, shortly after its announcement the game's creative director, Ikumi Nakamura, left the studio. While Mikami didn't offer any new information on Ghostwire: Tokyo other than simply stating "GhostWire is a completely new type of game so I really hope people look forward to it," a representative for Tango Gameworks chimed in on Mikami's involvement in the game's development, claiming "for projects where he isn't the director he respects the director's opinions and focuses on only assisting the director."
When discussing Mikami's horror inspirations, the Resident Evil and Evil Within director was asked if he believes he may have predicted the pandemic or if he may use it as an influence for future titles, to which Mikami responded "In Resident Evil, I chose a virus as the reason humans turn into zombies. I remember feeling excited by the new idea that a virus—a real enemy that can't be seen by humans—would cause tremendous fear in people. Now, I think it will be difficult for my games not to be influenced by the struggles we are experiencing right now."
While Mikami neglected to delve further into how he believes the pandemic will influence any of his future games, he did, however, finally chime in with his opinions on the remake of Resident Evil 2, as he produced the original, while also chiming in on the possibility of a Resident Evil 4 remake, a game which he directed.
Speaking of Resident Evil 2, he claimed that while he didn't play the game himself, he did see a video showcasing the game and "thought it was very good." When asked about the possibility of Resident Evil 4 receiving a remake, Mikami simply remarked "As long as it turns out good I have no issues with it."
A new Resident Evil game is rumored to be in development.
Source: IGN