Resident Evil 6 - Development

Development

Concept development of the game began soon after the release of Resident Evil 5, and began full development in 2010. Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi said that he considered a "completely new system" for Resident Evil 6, but later ruled out his involvement with the game. In March 2009, co-producer Masachika Kawata stated that the new installment was not decided upon, but that it could take Capcom four to eight years to develop. Sources familiar with the project indicated that the series would return to its roots and be "brutally scary."

The development of the game was led by Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who is stated by Capcom to be aiming to "deliver the most impressive Resident Evil title ever both in terms of scope and production values." Capcom also noted that the game is meant to be "a giant stride forward in the evolution of the series." The staff wanted to give the game a new setting with director Eiichiro Sasaki wishing to place it in China. While the country of Edonia was not modelled on any country from Europe, it was given an Eastern European air. The character of Jake was also made to attract new fans. The game has a development staff of more than 600, making it Capcom's biggest production to date. In May 2012, Capcom announced they expect the game to sell 7 million copies by the end of this fiscal year. However they have recently lowered their expectations to 6 million due to the games reception.

An official trailer was released on January 19, 2012. On April 10, 2012, a second trailer was released which detailed the game's plot further, also revealed that the release date has been moved from November 20, 2012 to October 2, 2012. At Microsoft's press briefing at E3 2012, the first gameplay demonstration was shown, depicting Leon and Helena fighting zombie hordes in China. A playable demo of Resident Evil 6 was scheduled on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace on September 5, 2012. Capcom later announced that the demo would become available for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners on September 18, 2012. Early access to the demo was included with Dragon's Dogma. As a result of criticism of the first demo, Capcom brought a different version of the demo to the San Diego Comic-Con 2012, modifying various parts of its gameplay. A new playable demo was released on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace on September 18, 2012.