Highlights

  • Leaks in the video game industry have become more common, with details on high-budget AAA games often out long before release.
  • Rumors surrounding Resident Evil 9 include characters, settings, and even a potential shift to more action-oriented gameplay.
  • Resident Evil 9 might be the biggest game in the franchise yet, with a high budget and a longer development period.

Over the last decade or so, leaks and rumors have become much more prolific in the video game space. While big-budget releases have always been destined to suffer a few minor leaks, it's now become a staple of the industry that many high-budget AAA games will have their plots, characters, and gameplay features leaked long before the game releases, and often even long before the game has even been announced. That's certainly been the case with Resident Evil 9, too.

Not even announced yet in any official capacity at all, Resident Evil 9 has allegedly suffered a plethora of leaks over the last two years. From leaks surrounding returning protagonists, new monsters and villains, the game's setting, and anything in between, almost every facet of Resident Evil 9 has been ruminated on already. Whether these rumors are true or not remains to be seen.

All leaks and rumors about to be discussed should be taken with a huge pinch of salt, especially as several leaks have contradicted one another over the years.

Resident Evil Village Open World Exploration
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Every Leak and Rumor Surrounding Resident Evil 9 Explained

The First Big Resident Evil 9 Leak

Back in August 2022, Resident Evil 9 potentially suffered its first leak. First found on 4chan and later collated and discussed by YouTuber Residence of Evil, these initial Resident Evil 9 leaks claimed that the working title for the sequel was Resident Evil Apocalypse. According to the leaks, Apocalypse would be set somewhere in the west of North America, where players would be able to explore a series of caves, forests, and rivers. The game would apparently revolve around the ninth moon cycle, which would cause the appearance of some spooky monsters like Wendigos that could mimic human voices, and a mysterious woman in a regal gold and brown dress.

Chris Redfield Could Be Resident Evil 9's Protagonist

Flashing forward almost an entire year, the next Resident Evil 9 leak would come in June 2023, where Twitter User Chris Marx would state that Chris Redfield would be the main playable protagonist of Resident Evil 9. Not only that, Marx believed that a slew of legacy Resident Evil characters would be joining Chris in his new adventure, including Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, and Leon S. Kennedy.

To round things out, Marx claimed that Resident Evil 9 would focus more on action than horror and that the game would be released in the latter half of 2024. However, Marx also mentioned that he believed Capcom would announce the game by the end of 2023, which it obviously hasn't.

Resident Evil 9 Could Be the Biggest Game in the Franchise Yet

In October 2023, a leaker by the name of DuskGolem would take to their Discord to share some apparent information about Resident Evil 9. In this initial leak, DuskGolem stated that Resident Evil 9 will have the highest budget and longest development period of any Resident Evil game to date. DuskGolem also mentioned that Capcom was apparently viewing Resident Evil 9 as both a sort of conclusion to past series events and the beginning of a new chapter of the franchise.

Resident Evil 9 Could Be Just One of 5 Resident Evil Projects in Development

Back in February of this year, DuskGolem would share some more alleged information on the Resident Evil franchise as a whole. Even more vague than their last leak, DuskGolem simply stated that they know of at least five Resident Evil games in development right now, with one of those being Resident Evil 9. The only other piece of information DuskGolem gave was that one of these projects could be released in late 2026 or early 2027.

Resident Evil 9 Could Be Open-World

The most recent Resident Evil 9 leak occurred just a few weeks ago. After the release of Dragon's Dogma 2 in late March, DuskGolem reared their head once again, this time taking to Twitter to tease that Resident Evil 9 could be going open-world. In their Tweet, DuskGolem explained that Capcom tends to greenlight its projects in groups of three to make efficient use of the current engine. DuskGolem then stated that both Resident Evil 9 and Monster Hunter Wilds are building on Dragon's Dogma 2's RE Engine, which expanded the capabilities for open-world gameplay.