Albert Wesker is the original antagonist of the Resident Evil franchise and by far still the most iconic, despite not appearing within the main story of a game since Resident Evil 5 almost 15 years ago. This incredibly intelligent and heartless villain has been one of the leading causes of life-threatening bioweapon developments over the series and has earned his place as perhaps one of the best, most memorable bad guys in gaming history.
There is no doubt that Wesker is pure evil, doing anything he can to ensure the world's destruction and his domination over it. This character is one of the franchise's most reoccurring and has featured in several Resident Evil games since his debut in 1996 and that leads to the question - how many games exactly has he appeared in?
8 Resident Evil (1996/2002)
Albert Wesker makes his iconic first appearance as the main antagonist in the original Resident Evil. In this game, Wesker lives a double life: he's the captain of S.T.A.R.S. as well as a high-ranking researcher for the Umbrella Corporation and his reveal towards the end of Resident Evil was a huge shock for this very reason.
He planned to then betray Umbrella and keep the research for himself, which leads to him unleashing the Tyrant within Spencer Mansion. Wesker, despite being impaled through the chest by the Tyrant, survives the events of the game and escapes the mansion - his survival is a result of the virus he infected himself with prior to this game, given to him by Birkin, which not only revived him but also left him with superhuman abilities.
Wesker also appears as a zombie in the Sega Saturn version of Resident Evil within the Battle Game mode as well as an unlockable character within the multiplayer mode of Deadly Silence, an enhanced version of Resident Evil.
7 CODE: Veronica (2000)
Wesker reappears in Resident Evil CODE: Veronica as a minor character and secondary villain; it's within this game players will see Wesker's superhuman abilities for the first time.
In CODE: Veronica, Wesker no longer works for Umbrella but instead a company rival to them, with his key purpose being to retrieve a sample of the T-Veronica virus. However, he becomes distracted when attempting to sabotage Chris Redfield's mission, which is perhaps a result of the resentment Wesker holds for Chris after the events of the original game.
6 Resident Evil 4 (2005/2023)
Wesker does not appear as a major character in Resident Evil 4, but that doesn't mean he didn't play a huge part in its story. In the remake, Wesker features within the post-credit scene where it is confirmed that he had hired Ada to steal the amber, the key to the Las Plagas virus, so he could fulfill his plans of world domination.
In the original game, however, Wesker doesn't make an appearance in the main story whatsoever but instead the Separate Ways DLC and the Assignment Ada chapter. His plans here very different; his aim was to obtain the amber so that he could resurrect a fallen Umbrella.
5 The Umbrella Chronicles (2007)
The Umbrella Chronicles is an on-rails shooter game which retells the stories of previous games, this time from a first-person perspective and narrated by none other than Albert Wesker himself. Its purpose is to detail how exactly Umbrella came to an end and explain past events.
For the first time, Wesker is a playable character in the main game, along with iconic characters such as Jill and Chris, within several of its scenarios: 'Beginnings', 'Rebirth' and 'Dark Legacy'.
4 Resident Evil 5 (2009)
Albert Wesker returns as the iconic main antagonist fans know and love in Resident Evil 5. It's within this game where Wesker plans to spread the Uroboros virus across the world - a virus which essentially enforced natural selection, with only those with superior genes able to survive and altering said survivors into super humans. Uroboros is what Wesker himself was infected with.
The player will encounter Wesker several times throughout the campaign until he serves as the game's final boss. Here, Chris and Sheva are able to put a stop to him once and for all.
3 The Mercenaries 3D (2011)
The Mercenaries 3D was released exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS and is essentially a blend of The Mercenaries mini-games featured in a few games previous. Its story is non-canon, however, hence Wesker's return.
Wesker is one of the game's many playable characters in which the player can unlock by beating mission 5-5 with a B rank (or higher). An additional outfit can also be unlocked upon obtaining a B rank or above on all available missions. Overall, he's one of the game's strongest characters but has one of the worst recovery rates.
2 Revelations 2 (2015)
Wesker, of course, died at the end of Resident Evil 5, but that doesn't stop him from making appearances - at least in more recent game's additional modes. In fact, Wesker once again features as an unlockable character, this time within Revelations 2; specifically, its Raid Mode, a mini-game where players (single or in co-op) are required to fight through stages and, upon beating each stage, are then rewarded with EXP used to upgrade their characters and equipment.
In this mode, Wesker is especially strong, durable and utilizes evasion - making him one of its strongest characters. He is, however, only unlockable through purchasing the additional DLC.
1 Resident Evil 0 (2016)
Wesker makes an extremely unique appearance in Resident Evil 0, specifically the remastered version of the game that was released in 2016. He doesn't appear in the main storyline, of course, as it takes place before Resident Evil - however, upon completing the game, the player will unlock 'Wesker Mode'.
This mode replaces Billy with Wesker and features a P30-infected Rebecca, the very chemical Wesker used to brainwash Jill during Resident Evil 5. Wesker is equipped with a set of powerful abilities including 'Shadow Dash' and 'Death Stare' and, unlike Billy, can mix herbs.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.