In 1998, after the completion of Resident Evil 2

In 1998, after the completion of Resident Evil 2, preliminary work on a PlayStation 2 installment of the Resident Evil series began under the direction of Hideki Kamiya, under the name "Team Little Devil".[32] Early research and development work included a trip to Spain to examine various castles as a basis for the game's environments. However, Cosplay Costumes in prototype status, it proved to be a radical departure from the established Resident Evil formula and the survival horror genre in general. Rather than abandon the project entirely, the premise was changed and it eventually became Devil May Cry.[33]

Despite the success of the original Devil May Cry, the sequel was not created by Kamiya or Team Little Devils.[34][35] Instead, Hideaki Itsuno was appointed as the director of the sequel. Following the mixed reception received by Devil May Cry 2, Capcom decided to develop the next game in a similar manner to the series' more critically successful first entry. Gameplay elements such as the size of environments and the game's battle engine were reconsidered.[36]

While the fourth game was a commercial success, the staff thought about rebooting the series taking into account how other game series had better sales.[37] They chose Ninja Theory, impressed with their work on Heavenly Sword which the staff thought would work with a Devil May Cry game.[38] Nevertheless, in 2013 Itsuno showed interest in continuing the original Devil May Cry series by developing a fifth installment.[39] It was originally thought Itsuno revealed that the series could go on hiatus or end for good if Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition was not a commercial success.[40] However, Devil May Cry Costumes in an interview with GameSpot, Itsuno confirmed that the series future did not rest on Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition's sales. He also alleviated fears that DmC: Devil May Cry's sales killed the series, confirming that Capcom was satisfied with them.[41] In mid-January 2016, Itsuno stated on Twitter that he’s begun work on a new project which couldn't be announced just yet[42] and later in March, Reuben Langdon and Johnny Yong Bosch, who had done voice acting and motion capture for Dante and Nero respectively in Devil May Cry 4, took pictures of themselves in motion capture gear, leading to speculation that a new Devil May Cry game is in development.[43] In respone on Twitter regarding any truth about the speculation, Capcom Vancouver stated that "It's not a game that [they] announced that [they are] working on at [their] studio