Dino Crisis Creator Says Monster Hunter Has Filled the Space for a New Game in the Series

Shinji Mikami doesn't think there's room in the industry for more Dino Crisis.

By Marc Deschamps

It's been more than two decades since the last new game in the Dino Crisis franchise. Since then, fans have been begging Capcom to bring the series back, but those requests have been in vain. A survival horror game with dinosaurs seems like the kind of thing begging for a remake, but Shinji Mikami doesn't think there's room in today's market. Speaking to Eurogamer, the Dino Crisis director and producer made the argument that Capcom's Monster Hunter series has filled that void, giving gamers an experience where they can kill or be killed by dinosaur enemies. In fact, Mikami has been surprised to hear demands for the franchise's return. 

"The awesomeness of dinosaurs and the stuff you can do with dinosaurs, that's been kind of really nailed down by Monster Hunter in recent years," Mikami told Eurogamer. "So even if I were to decide to make a remake or a new version of Dino Crisis, 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. But yeah, it is surprising."

The Monster Hunter series debuted in 2004, one year after the final Dino Crisis game was released. In the 20 years since, Monster Hunter has become one of Capcom's biggest franchises. While the series does feature some dinosaur enemies, any similarities with Dino Crisis are surface level; Dino Crisis is much closer to Resident Evil than it is to Monster Hunter. Besides that, the existence of Monster Hunter didn't prevent Capcom from releasing Exoprimal last year, a game that many fans initially mistook for a new Dino Crisis. Mikami told Eurogamer in that case that "the fans got their expectations up." 

Related:

In addition to directing and producing Dino Crisis, Mikami was also responsible for the original Resident Evil in 1996. Mikami left the series after the first game, but returned briefly in 2002 to helm the excellent Resident Evil remake. At this point, it doesn't sound like we'll see Mikami similarly return for a Dino Crisis remake (and he just founded a new studio this year), but there's a lot more demand than he might think. The Capcom Super Elections were held earlier this year, and one of the questions asked participants which series they "would like to see get a sequel or new game." With a total of 80,769 votes, Dino Crisis took home the top spot on the list. It remains to be seen whether anything will actually come of that poll's results, but fans haven't given up hope just yet. 

Are you still hoping to see a new Dino Crisis? Do you think Monster Hunter's popularity has anything to do with the lack of new Dino Crisis games? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

Trending Now: