As one of the most-storied franchises in gaming today, Resident Evil has a lot of history to draw on when it's bringing about a new title. This often leads fans to speculate on who could come back from old games, what nod from the past they'll get in the future. However, producer Masata Kumazawa wants everyone to calm down a little when it comes to believing rumours as fact.
"Sometimes I talk to people and they act as if various speculation and rumours are just already a confirmed thing, and then they start talking on that basis," he told The Gamer. "I would like everyone to remember, let's calm down a bit - what we've shown you so far is everything we can say. People get frustrated with us, because even though we didn't promise things, the rumours and theories were such that they were widely believed."
Kumazawa and director Koshi Nakanishi also spoke about the hooded figure from recent trailers, who fans hope is a returning favourite from the series' past. "Everyone is convinced it [the hooded figure] has to be a reveal of a returning cast member, and there is speculation that it must be this person or must be that person. But we don't always want to just lean on surprise comebacks like these," they explained.
"The hooded person is a new character, we will confirm that much. In this case, it's a newly created character for this storyline, so it's a bit of a previously undisclosed detail, but hopefully it contextualises how we're approaching the game's story."
We'll get to find out the true identity of the hooded figure next February, when Resident Evil Requiem launches. Until then, despite Kumazawa's hopes, we can't really see fans stopping their speculating, even if they're barking up the wrong tree.