Capcom has never been one to shy away from aggressively utilizing its core intellectual properties, however iteration often translates to evolution, which can be interpreted as abandonment by the minds of die-hard fans. But, that might not be such a bad thing.

"We think that certainly some people's expectations will be violated, but that's, in our minds, a good thing," said producer Masachika Kawata, speaking on the Resident Evil series during an interview with Gamasutra. "It will hopefully get people to play something that they weren't expecting."

Resident Evil has arguably seen more drastic paradigm shifts than any other Capcom franchise, with the upcoming Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City fully embracing the shooter seeds planted by Resident Evils 4 and 5. Kawata views the situation as one of diversity rather than exclusion, however, implying that the Resident Evil franchise has expanded to accommodate many different genres underneath its IP umbrella, including shooters.

Of course, survival horror is still an integral part of Resident Evil's brand image, and Kawata's own Resident Evil: Revelations is said to be "core-fan focused" in a way that makes it similar to Capcom zombie romps of yore. Still, every relationship needs a little spark now and again: "I'm thinking that if we would have brought out all these Resident Evil titles, and they were all focused on survival horror, absolutely I think people would be really sick of Resident Evil."