When Resident Evil Village was announced at PlayStation's PS5 event last month, some fans wondered why the game didn't have the number 8 in it. After all, the game is the sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (which does have a number in it's title), so why doesn't the sequel? As it turns out, there is a logical reason why the development team decided to name Resident Evil Village as Village and not Resident Evil 8.
In this week's issue of the Famitsu magazine (via outlet Kotaku), producers Peter Fabiano and Tsuyoshi Kanda were asked about the game's title and why it was named the way it was named. According to their reply, the village location in Resident Evil Village is like "another character in the game" and the reason the game was titled as Village was because the development team wanted players to understand that. On top of the official explanation, the producers also stated that there is no correct abbreviation for the game - it's neither RE8 or Village. However, they would simply be happy if players remembered the game as Village.
Regarding the titles of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village, both of the games had a Roman numeral when they were revealed. For instance, with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, the letters "viL" in Evil spelled out VII which is number 7. As far as Resident Evil Village goes, the "Vill" in Village spell out VIII which translates to 8. Seeing how there is a pattern, it will be interesting to see how Capcom will apply Roman numerals to future Resident Evil games, or what new approach it will take when announcing the games.
As far as the entire village location goes, rumors claim that the upcoming game will have the most exploration out of all Resident Evil games, and how players will have the option to explore the village since it'll serve as the main setting. Even then, the game will follow a loose Metroidvania formula in a sense that mid-game and late-game locations will be open early on, but they will be difficult to get through unless players have the correct gear. Nonetheless, the game is aiming to show how much the Resident Evil series has evolved over time.
Source: Kotaku