Highlights
- The rumored ninth installment of the Resident Evil franchise is expected to have the biggest budget in the series' history, following the success of the recent remakes and the critical acclaim of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
- According to insider Dusk Golem, Resident Evil 9 has been in development since 2018 and will wrap up the storyline that began in Resident Evil 7. The game is expected to take place in a western-style ghost town, bringing a new and exciting setting to the franchise.
- Fans can anticipate the release of Resident Evil 9 in 2025, with an official unveiling possibly happening next year.
The all-but-confirmed ninth installment in Capcom's Resident Evil franchise is rumored to have the biggest budget the series has ever seen. The latest Resident Evil title to be released, the remake of 2005's Resident Evil 4, came out earlier this year to critical acclaim and is regarded as perhaps the greatest video game remake ever with its vastly updated visuals and calculated action gameplay.
Suffice it to say, gamers are currently in the midst of a Resident Evil renaissance. The release of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard in 2017 injected some juice into a franchise that had long passed its heyday. Biohazard introduced a sharper modern horror tone and immersive first-person gameplay for the first time in the mainline franchise's long history. Two years later Capcom kicked off its string of incredibly well-received Resident Evil remakes with Resident Evil 2, and followed that up a year later with its smaller, more action-focused Resident Evil 3 remake. 2021 saw the release of Biohazard's much anticipated sequel, Resident Evil Village, which picked up Ethan Winters' story as he ventures into a harrowing Romanian village in search for his taken daughter.
With Resident Evil 4 remake and its Separate Ways DLC having just recently satisfied longtime fans, they're beginning to look ahead towards what's next for the survival horror franchise, which will most likely be the continuation of the mainline series with Resident Evil 9. As reported by Insider Gaming, a Resident Evil insider named Dusk Golem has learned that this rumored ninth installment will be the biggest Resident Evil game yet, and thus will have the biggest budget of any game in the series so far. Dusk Golem goes on to claim that Resident Evil 9 will wrap up the storyline that began with Ethan Winters back in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
Surprisingly, according to Dusk Golem, Resident Evil 9 has been in development since 2018, though most likely in an early pre-production capacity, as Capcom has had its hands full with Resident Evil Village and an assortment of remakes since. Perhaps most exciting is Dusk Golem's mention of the game's potential setting. They claim that Resident Evil 9 will take place in a sort of western ghost town. Whether this means players will be taken back to the old American frontier or a modern day western town is unknown, but the prospect of a Resident Evil western would surely excite many fans. Additionally, since Resident Evil Village's Shadows of Rose DLC is playable in third-person, it would be a safe bet to expect Resident Evil 9 to offer players the option of both first and third-person gameplay.
When Should Fans Expect Resident Evil 9?
Dusk Golem has expressed that Resident Evil 9 won't be ready until 2025, which would create a pretty standard four year gap since Village in 2021. If this is indeed true, it wouldn't be unwise to expect Capcom to officially unveil Resident Evil 9 sometime next year, either as part of a PlayStation or Xbox showcase, or at Geoff Keighley's annual Summer Game Fest.
Resident Evil
Resident Evil is a long-running survival horror franchise developed by Capcom. Spread across numerous mainline and spin-off entries, the series is known for it’s third and first-person action horror, zombie-related monsters and references, and challenging puzzles.
