Dino Crisis director Shinji Mikami was “very surprised” to hear fans are eager for a new game in the series

In an interview with Eurogamer, Shinji Mikami, who directed both Dino Crisis and the original Resident Evil, showed surprise when he was told that there’s a demand for a new entry in the Dino Crisis series. He added that he doesn’t see where there’s space for it in the industry while Monster Hunter is doing its thing.

Mikami is the developer often attributed with ‘inventing’ the survival horror genre through his work on the Resident Evil franchise. While he worked on the first Dino Crisis game, Shu Takumi took over for the sequel, and the series all but died with the third mainline entry. In the interview, Mikami said, “I’m very surprised to hear that,” when asked about the possibility of another game in the beloved franchise, even though the game was the most voted for in a 2024 Capcom survey.

This industry ain’t big enough for two dinosaur games

Mikami explained his thoughts on why a new Dino Crisis game wouldn’t work in the industry right now. He says, “I don’t really feel like there’s a whole lot of space for that kind of game right now, just since Monster Hunter has become such a big game.”

It’s an interesting point of view, especially coming from such a games development veteran. I expect Mikami’s view is aided by his information on the development side, seeing which games are performing and how industry trends work. There’s also the elephant in the room that is Exoprimal. That game was Capcom’s last foray with actual dinosaurs, and it didn’t take off as much as many believe it would have hoped.

It’s also true that Monster Hunter as a series has adopted a huge fan base of millions of players thanks to Monster Hunter World and the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds. These games offer expansive worlds with unique biomes and dozens of massive monsters to hunt. The fact that you can team up with other players, but the games don’t have the usual trappings of an MMO, makes them even better, in my opinion.

While Mikami’s statement isn’t concrete evidence that there will never be another Dino Crisis game, especially since Capcom asked players if they wanted one in the first place, it’s a sign that we should temper our expectations. At a point in time when developers are still making mass layoffs, it doesn’t make sense to take risks, and a new game in a series that debuted in 1999 is definitely a risk.