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''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese
horror game A horror game is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. Unlike most other video game genres, which are classified by their gameplay, horror games are nearly always based on narrative or visual pr ...
series and
media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...
created by
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
. It consists of
survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
,
third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...
and
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
games, with players typically surviving in environments filled with zombies and other creatures. The franchise has expanded into a live-action film series,
animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
s,
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
,
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s,
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
s,
audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
s, and other media and merchandise. ''Resident Evil'' is the highest-grossing horror franchise. The first ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' was created by
Shinji Mikami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. Starting his career at Capcom in 1990, he has worked on many of the company's most successful games. He directed the first installment of the ''Resident Evil'' series in 1996 and the f ...
and
Tokuro Fujiwara , sometimes credited as Professor F or Arthur King, is a Japanese video game designer, involved in the development of many classic Capcom video games. He directed early Capcom titles such as the run-and-gun shooter ''Commando'' (1985), the platf ...
and released for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
in 1996. It is credited for defining the survival horror genre and returning
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
s to popular culture. With ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
'' (2005), the franchise shifted to more dynamic shooting action; it influenced the evolution of the survival horror and third-person genres, popularizing the "over-the-shoulder"
third-person view In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
. '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' (2017) moved the series to a
first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...
. Capcom has also released three ''Resident Evil''
remakes A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...
: ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' (2002), ''
Resident Evil 2 ''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation. The player controls Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon City after its citizens are transformed into zom ...
'' (2019) and ''
Resident Evil 3 ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' is a 1999 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. It is the third game in the ''Resident Evil'' series and takes place almost concurrently ...
'' (2020), with the upcoming ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
'' scheduled for 2023. ''Resident Evil'' is Capcom's best-selling franchise, with copies sold worldwide as of October 2022, and is the best-selling
horror game A horror game is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. Unlike most other video game genres, which are classified by their gameplay, horror games are nearly always based on narrative or visual pr ...
series. The first ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' film was released in 2002, followed by five sequels and a 2021 reboot, '' Welcome to Raccoon City''. The films have received mixed-to-negative reviews, but have grossed more than $1.2 billion, making ''Resident Evil'' the second highest-grossing video game film series.


History

The development of the first ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'', released as ''Biohazard'' in Japan, began in 1993 when
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
's
Tokuro Fujiwara , sometimes credited as Professor F or Arthur King, is a Japanese video game designer, involved in the development of many classic Capcom video games. He directed early Capcom titles such as the run-and-gun shooter ''Commando'' (1985), the platf ...
told
Shinji Mikami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. Starting his career at Capcom in 1990, he has worked on many of the company's most successful games. He directed the first installment of the ''Resident Evil'' series in 1996 and the f ...
and other co-workers to create a game using elements from Fujiwara's 1989 game ''
Sweet Home Sweet Home or Sweethome may refer to: Places in the United States * Sweet Home, Arkansas * Sweet Home Central School District in Amherst and Tonawanda, New York ** Sweet Home High School (Amherst, New York), a New York State public high school * ...
''.Resident Evil Creator Shinji Mikami Reflects on the Series' Roots
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
(March 22, 2016)
When in late 1994 marketing executives were setting up to release ''Biohazard'' in the United States, it was pointed out that securing the rights to the name ''Biohazard'' would be very difficult as a DOS game had been registered under that name, as well as a New York hardcore punk band called
Biohazard A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect human health. A bioh ...
. A contest was held among company personnel to choose a new name; this competition turned up ''Resident Evil'', the name under which it was released in the west. ''Resident Evil'' made its debut on the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
in 1996 and was later ported to the
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
. The first entry in the series was the first game to be dubbed a "
survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
", a term coined for the new genre it initiated, and its critical and commercial success led to the production of two sequels, ''
Resident Evil 2 ''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation. The player controls Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon City after its citizens are transformed into zom ...
'' in 1998 and '' Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' in 1999, both for the PlayStation. A port of ''Resident Evil 2'' was released for the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
. In addition, ports of all three were released for
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. The fourth game in the series, '' Resident Evil – Code: Veronica'', was developed for the
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
and released in 2000, followed by ports of ''Resident Evil 2'' and ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis''. ''Resident Evil – Code: Veronica'' was later re-released for Dreamcast in Japan in an updated form as ''Code: Veronica Complete'', which included slight changes, many of which revolved around story cutscenes. This updated version was later ported to the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
under the title ''Code: Veronica X''. Despite earlier announcements that the next game in the series would be released for the PlayStation 2, which resulted in the creation of an unrelated game titled ''
Devil May Cry is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists o ...
'', series' creator and producer Shinji Mikami decided to make the series exclusively for the GameCube. The next three games in the series—a remake of the original ''Resident Evil'' and the prequel ''
Resident Evil Zero ''Resident Evil Zero'' (or ''Resident Evil 0'') is a survival horror game developed and published by Capcom for the GameCube in 2002. It is a prequel to ''Resident Evil'' (1996), covering the ordeals experienced in the Arklay Mountains by spec ...
'', both released in 2002, as well as ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
'' (2005)—were all released initially as GameCube exclusives. ''Resident Evil 4'' was later released for Windows, PlayStation 2, and
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
. A trilogy of
GunCon The , known as the G-Con in Europe, is a family of gun peripherals designed by Namco for the PlayStation consoles. The original controllers used traditional light gun technology, while newer controllers use LED tracking technology. Background T ...
-compatible
light gun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensing ...
games known as the ''Gun Survivor'' series featured first-person gameplay. The first, ''
Resident Evil Survivor ''Resident Evil Survivor'' is a first-person light gun shooter video game developed by Tose and published by Capcom. It was released on the PlayStation in Japan on January 27, 2000, in Europe on March 31, 2000 and in North America on August 30, 2 ...
'', was released in 2000 for the PlayStation and PC but received mediocre reviews. The subsequent games, '' Resident Evil Survivor 2 – Code: Veronica'' and '' Resident Evil: Dead Aim'', fared somewhat better. ''Dead Aim'' is the fourth ''Gun Survivor'' game in Japan, with ''Gun Survivor 3'' being the ''
Dino Crisis is a survival horror and action-adventure video game series created by Shinji Mikami and developed and published by Capcom. The plot focuses on recurring outbreaks of deadly dinosaurs in closed environments, such as a laboratory on an island. ...
'' spin-off ''
Dino Stalker ''Dino Stalker'' is a horror light gun shooter video game developed by TOSE and published by Capcom exclusively for the PlayStation 2. It is an offshoot of the ''Resident Evil'' light gun shooter games, but based on the story of the ''Dino Cri ...
''. In a similar vein, the ''Chronicles'' series features first-person gameplay, albeit on an on-rails path. '' Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles'' was released in 2007 for the Wii, with a sequel, '' Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles'' released in 2009 (both were later ported to the PlayStation 3 in 2012). Also in 2009, ''
Resident Evil 5 ''Resident Evil 5'' is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the ''Resident Evil'' series, and was announced in 2005—the same year its predecessor ''Resident Evil 4'' was released. ' ...
'' was released for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
, becoming the best selling game of the franchise despite mixed fan reception. ''
Resident Evil Outbreak ''Resident Evil Outbreak'' is a survival horror video game with online playability for the PlayStation 2. Initially released in 2003, it was developed by Capcom Production Studio 1 and was the first entry in the ''Resident Evil'' video game se ...
'' is an
online game An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PC game, PCs, Console game, consoles and ...
for the PlayStation 2, released in 2003, depicting a series of episodic storylines in Raccoon City set during the same period as ''Resident Evil 2'' and ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis''. It was the first in the series and the first survival horror title to feature
cooperative gameplay Cooperative game may refer to: * Cooperative board game, board games in which players work together to achieve a common goal * Cooperative game theory, in game theory, a game with competition between groups of players and the possibility of cooperat ...
. It was followed by a sequel, '' Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2''. Raccoon City is a metropolis located in the Arklay Mountains of the Midwestern United States that succumbed to the deadly T-virus outbreak and was consequently destroyed via a nuclear missile attack issued by the United States government. The town served as a critical junction for the series' progression as one of the main catalysts to Umbrella's downfall and the entry point for some of the series' most notable characters. ''
Resident Evil Gaiden ''Resident Evil Gaiden'' is an action-adventure game for the Game Boy Color developed by Capcom and M4, and first released on December 14, 2001. Receiving generally mixed reviews by critics, the game marks a departure from other entries in the Res ...
'' is an
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...
for the
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
featuring a
role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
-style combat system. There have been several downloadable
mobile games A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone ( feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
based on the ''Resident Evil'' series in Japan. Some of these mobile games have been released in North America and Europe through T-Mobile. At the
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
press conference during
E3 2009 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 (E3 2009) was the 15th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 2, 2009, and ended on June 4, 2009, with 41,000 total attendees. Majo ...
, ''Resident Evil Portable'' was announced for the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
, described as an all-new title being developed with "the
PSP Go The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
in mind" and "totally different for a ''Resident Evil'' game". No further announcements have been made, and the game is considered to have been canceled. Capcom revealed the
third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...
'' Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City'', which was developed by
Slant Six Games Slant Six Games was a Canadian independent video game developer founded in 2005. The company's name is derived from the 1959 Chrysler engine of the same name. Slant Six Games' studio was based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were vot ...
for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows and released in March 2012. A
survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
game for the
Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
, '' Resident Evil: Revelations'', was released in February 2012. In October of the same year, the next numbered entry in the main series, ''
Resident Evil 6 ''Resident Evil 6'' is a 2012 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. A major installment in the '' Resident Evil'' series, ''Resident Evil 6'' was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2012, and for ...
'', was released to mixed reviews, but enthusiastic pre-order sales. In 2013, producer Masachika Kawata said the ''Resident Evil'' franchise would return to focus on elements of horror and suspense over action, adding that "survival horror as a genre is never going to be on the same level, financially, as shooters and much more popular, mainstream games. At the same time, I think we need to have the confidence to put money behind these projects, and it doesn't mean we can't focus on what we need to do as a survival horror game to meet fan's needs." '' Resident Evil: Revelations 2'', an episodic game set between ''Resident Evil 5'' and ''Resident Evil 6'', was released in March 2015. A series of team-based multiplayer games were developed beginning with the poorly-received '' Umbrella Corps'', which was released in June 2016. '' Resident Evil: Resistance'' was released in April 2020, followed by ''Resident Evil Re:Verse'' in October 2022, with both being available for free to those who bought ''Resident Evil 3'' and ''Village'' respectively. Using the new RE Engine, which would develop the next generation of ''Resident Evil'' games, the series continued to shift back towards more horror elements. The next mainline game, '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' was released for
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
in January 2017. Set in a dilapidated mansion in Louisiana, the game uses a
first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...
and emphasizes horror and exploration over action, unlike previous installments. The first-person perspective continued in the eighth mainline game ''
Resident Evil Village ''Resident Evil Village'' is a 2021 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sequel to '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' (2017). Players control Ethan Winters, who searches for his kidnapped daughter in a village filled wit ...
.'' Released in May 2021, the game, set in a mysterious European village, is a direct sequel to ''Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' although it incorporates more action elements inspired from ''Resident Evil 4''. The game also marked the franchise's debut on
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
and
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
A new generation of remakes of older entries began in 2019 with a remake of ''Resident Evil 2'', being released for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The remake outsold the original game within a year, selling over five million copies. Following in the success of the ''Resident Evil 2'' remake, Capcom revealed a remake of ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' in December 2019, known as ''
Resident Evil 3 ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' is a 1999 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. It is the third game in the ''Resident Evil'' series and takes place almost concurrently ...
''. It was released in April 2020. In June 2022, a remake of ''Resident Evil 4'' was announced and is expected to be released on March 24, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.


Story

Earlier installments in the franchise primarily concerns a group of people who battle against the
Umbrella Corporation This is a list of ''Resident Evil'' characters, which includes playable and recurring characters that were introduced in ''Resident Evil'', a series of survival horror video games. Appearances P - Playable character (campaign/unlocka ...
, a pharmaceutical company which develops the T-virus and other mutagens for their secret "bio-organic weapons" research. The mutagens can transform humans into
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
s as well as mutate other animals and plants into horrifying monsters. The original game and many franchise entries are set in and around Raccoon City, a fictional
midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
American city. The city and its outlying areas house several
bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...
laboratories belonging to the Umbrella Corporation, which develop viruses intended for use in
biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Bio ...
. One of the laboratories, unnamed throughout the video game series and referred to as "The Hive" in the film adaptations, is located underneath Raccoon City and is where the T-virus is developed. As Umbrella's mutagen testing grows in scale and the virus has leaked into Raccoon City, STARS officers and other characters fight through the monsters ravaging the city to investigate Umbrella's involvement in the disaster. Raccoon City is ultimately destroyed by a thermobaric missile strike initiated by the United States government to contain the viral outbreak. An ensuing government investigation leads to Umbrella's downfall. However, the proliferation of Umbrella's biological weapons and viruses leads to other outbreaks across the world. The protagonists of each subsequent entry continue to fight new factions that engage in bio-terrorism and also face new types of creatures. Several major characters are members of Raccoon City's
police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. A police tactical unit's tas ...
,
STARS A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
, including
Chris Redfield is a character in '' Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. Chris debuted as one of the two playable characters of the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996), alongside his ...
,
Jill Valentine Jill Valentine is a character (arts), character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in the original ''Residen ...
, and
Rebecca Chambers is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was first introduced as a supporting character in the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996) and became pla ...
. The head of the STARS department is
Albert Wesker is a fictional character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. He is first introduced in the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996), in which he is the captain of the R ...
, who also secretly works for Umbrella and is a primary antagonist in the series. Other notable characters of the franchise include police officer and later US special agent
Leon S. Kennedy is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. He debuted as one of the two player characters of the video game ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), alongside Claire ...
, Chris' sister
Claire Redfield is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), alongside Leon S. Kennedy. C ...
, corporate spy
Ada Wong is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was first introduced as a supporting character in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), and became a playable charac ...
, and systems engineer
Ethan Winters is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. Ethan was introduced as one of the playable characters in the 2017 video game '' Resident Evil 7: Biohaza ...
with his daughter Rose Winters.


Gameplay

The ''Resident Evil'' franchise has had a variety of control schemes and gameplay mechanics throughout its history. Puzzle-solving has figured prominently throughout the series.


Tank controls

The first game introduced a control scheme that the player community has come to refer to as "
tank controls Tank controls are a control system used in video games whereby players control movement relative to the position of the player character, rather than the perspective of the game camera. Mechanism In a game with tank controls, pressing up (f ...
" to the series. In a game with tank controls, players control movement relative to the position of the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
, rather than relative to the fixed
virtual camera In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
from which the player views the current scene. Pressing up (for example on a
D-pad A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vid ...
,
analog stick An analog stick (or analogue stick in British English), sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller (often a game controller) that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joy ...
, or cursor movement keys) on the
game controller A game controller, gaming controller, or simply controller, is an input device used with video games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game, typically to control an object or character in the game. Before the seventh generatio ...
moves the character in the direction being faced, pressing down backpedals, and left and right rotates the character. This can feel counter-intuitive when the character is facing the camera, as the controls are essentially reversed in this state. This differs from many 3D games, in which characters move in the direction the player pushes the controls from the perspective of the camera. Some critics have posited that the control scheme is intentionally clumsy, meant to enhance stress and exacerbate difficulty. While the first three entries in the series featured this control scheme, the third, ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'', saw some action-oriented additions. These included a 180 degree turn and dodge command that, according to ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'', "hinted at a new direction that the series would go in." Later games in the series, like ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
'', would feature a more fluid over-the-shoulder third-person camera instead of a fixed camera for each room, while ''
Resident Evil 7 ''Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' is a 2017 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. The player controls Ethan Winters as he searches for his long-missing wife in a derelict plantation occupied by an infected family, solving puzzle ...
'' and ''
Resident Evil Village ''Resident Evil Village'' is a 2021 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sequel to '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' (2017). Players control Ethan Winters, who searches for his kidnapped daughter in a village filled wit ...
'' are played from the
first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...
.


Third-person shooter gameplay

''Resident Evil 4'' saw significant changes to the established gameplay, including switching from fixed camera perspectives to a tracking camera, and more action-oriented gameplay and mechanics. This was complemented by an abundance of ammunition and revised aiming and melee mechanics. Some critics claimed that this overhauled control scheme "made the game less scary." The next two games in the franchise furthered the action-oriented mechanics: ''Resident Evil 5'' featured cooperative play and added strafing, while ''Resident Evil 6'' allowed players to move while aiming and shooting for the first time, fully abandoning the series' signature tank controls.


First-person gameplay and VR

''Resident Evil 7'' is the first main ''Resident Evil'' game to use the first-person perspective and to use
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
. It drew comparisons to modern survival horror games such as ''
Outlast ''Outlast'' is a 2013 first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels. The game revolves around a freelance investigative journalist, Miles Upshur, who decides to investigate a remote psychiatric hospital named M ...
'' and '' PT''. The eighth main-series game, ''
Resident Evil Village ''Resident Evil Village'' is a 2021 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sequel to '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' (2017). Players control Ethan Winters, who searches for his kidnapped daughter in a village filled wit ...
'', also features a first-person perspective. A VR version of ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
'' was released on the
Oculus Quest 2 Meta Quest 2 (initially sold as Oculus Quest 2) is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.). It was unveiled on September 16, 2020 and released on October 13. As with its predecessor, the Oculus Qu ...
on October 21, 2021.


Other media

The ''Resident Evil'' franchise features video games and tie-in merchandise and products, including various
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
and animated films, comic books, and novels.


Films


Live-action films

From 2002 to 2016, six live-action ''Resident Evil'' films were produced, all written and produced by
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
. The films do not follow the games' premise but feature some game characters. The series' protagonist is Alice, an original character created for the films portrayed by
Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...
. Despite a negative reaction from critics, the live-action film series has made over $1 billion worldwide. They are, to date, the only video game adaptations to increase the amount of money made with each successive film. The series holds the record for the "Most Live-Action Film Adaptations of a Video Game" in the 2012 ''
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'', which also described it as "the most successful movie series to be based on a video game." A reboot, '' Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,'' was released on November 24, 2021, with
Johannes Roberts Johannes Roberts (born 24 May 1976) is a British film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed the film '' 47 Meters Down'' and its sequel, as well as ''The Other Side of the Door'', '' The Strangers: Prey at Night'' and '' Resident Evi ...
as writer/director.


Animated films

The first
computer animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...
film for the franchise was ''
Biohazard 4D-Executer ''Biohazard 4D-Executer'' is a 2000 Japanese 3D animated biopunk horror film based on the ''Resident Evil'' series of survival horror video games. It was created by Capcom in cooperation with Visual Science Laboratory, and distributed by Digital ...
''. It was a short 3D film produced for Japanese theme parks and did not feature any characters from the game. Starting in 2008, a series of feature-length computer animated films have been released. These films take place in the same continuity with the games of the series, and feature characters such as Leon Kennedy,
Claire Redfield is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), alongside Leon S. Kennedy. C ...
,
Ada Wong is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was first introduced as a supporting character in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), and became a playable charac ...
,
Chris Redfield is a character in '' Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. Chris debuted as one of the two playable characters of the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996), alongside his ...
and
Rebecca Chambers is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was first introduced as a supporting character in the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996) and became pla ...
.


Television

'' Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness'', a four-part CG
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series, premiered on July 8, 2021, on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. Starring the ''
Resident Evil 2 ''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation. The player controls Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon City after its citizens are transformed into zom ...
'' protagonists Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, the series features both uncovering a worldwide plot. The series released on July 8, 2021 on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. ''Resident Evil'' premiered on July 14, 2022, on Netflix. An eight episode live-action series, two plotlines set in 2022 and 2036 follow Albert Wesker and his daughters navigating Umbrella's experiments in New Raccoon City.


Merchandise

Over the years, various toy companies have acquired the ''Resident Evil'' license, with each producing their own unique line of ''Resident Evil''
action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...
s or models. These include, but are not limited to,
Toy Biz Toy Biz (also stylized as ToyBiz), was a toy company which later became a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment and was renamed to Marvel Toys. It was best known for producing action figures and toys and holding the Marvel Comics license from 1990 t ...
,
Palisades Toys Palisades Entertainment, LLC, better known as Palisades Toys, was an American manufacturing and distributing toy & collectibles company geared toward the adult collector market. Established in 1994, the company generally worked within the same ...
, NECA, and
Hot Toys Hot Toys Limited is a Hong Kong production house for designing, developing, and manufacturing highly detailed collectible merchandise to worldwide markets. Established in 2000 in Hong Kong (with its current headquarters in Kwun Tong District), the ...
.
Tokyo Marui is a Japanese manufacturer of airsoft guns and toy cars located in Adachi, Tokyo, and are famous for pioneering the design of battery-powered airsoft guns. Their products are principally sold in Japan, but are also exported worldwide. The comp ...
also produced replicas of the guns used in the ''Resident Evil'' series in the form of gas blow-back
airsoft Airsoft is a team game in which participants eliminate opposing players by tag (game), tagging them out of play with airsoft pellets, spherical plastic projectiles shot with mock air gun, air weapons(usually powered by an electronic motor) call ...
guns. Some models included the STARS
Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and milita ...
featured in ''Resident Evil 3'', and the
Desert Eagle The Desert Eagle is a gas-operated, semi-automatic pistol known for chambering the .50 Action Express, the largest centerfire cartridge of any magazine-fed, self-loading pistol. Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) designed and developed the Desert Eagle ...
in a limited edition that came with other memorabilia in a wooden case, along with the Gold Lugers from ''Code: Veronica'' and the "Samurai Edge" pistol from the ''Resident Evil'' remake. Other merchandise includes an energy drink called "T-virus Antidote." ''Resident Evil Archives'' is a reference guide of the ''Resident Evil'' series written by staff members of Capcom. It was translated into English and published by
BradyGames Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
. The guide describes and summarizes all of the key events that occur in ''
Resident Evil Zero ''Resident Evil Zero'' (or ''Resident Evil 0'') is a survival horror game developed and published by Capcom for the GameCube in 2002. It is a prequel to ''Resident Evil'' (1996), covering the ordeals experienced in the Arklay Mountains by spec ...
'', ''Resident Evil'', ''Resident Evil 2'', ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'', and ''Code: Veronica''. The main plot analysis also contains character relationship charts, artwork, item descriptions, and file transcripts for all five games. A second Archives book was later released in December 2011 and covers ''Resident Evil 4'', ''Resident Evil 5'', the new scenarios detailed in ''Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles'' and ''Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles'', and the 2008 CGI movie, ''Resident Evil: Degeneration''. The second Archives volume was also translated by Capcom and published by BradyGames. A ''Resident Evil''
theme restaurant A theme restaurant is a type of restaurant that uses theming to attract diners by creating a memorable experience. Theme restaurants have a unifying or dominant subject or concept, and utilize architecture, decor, special effects, and other techn ...
called Biohazard Cafe & Grill S.T.A.R.S. opened in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
in 2012.
Halloween Horror Nights ''Universal's Halloween Horror Nights'' (originally ''Universal Studios Fright Nights'' in 1991) is an annual Halloween-themed event at Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Japan and Singapore. The event was originally named '' ...
2013, held at
Universal Orlando Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply Universal, formerly Universal Studios Escape, is an American theme park and entertainment resort Building#Complex, complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operate ...
, featured a haunted house titled ''Resident Evil: Escape from Raccoon City'', based on ''Resident Evil 2'' and ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis''.


Novels

The first ''Resident Evil'' novel was Hiroyuki Ariga's novella ''Biohazard: The Beginning'', published in 1997 as a portion of the book ''The True Story of Biohazard'', which was given away as a pre-order bonus with the Sega Saturn version of ''Biohazard''. The story serves as a prelude to the original ''Resident Evil'', in which Chris investigates the disappearance of his missing friend, Billy Rabbitson. S. D. Perry has written novelizations of the first five games, as well as two original novels taking place between games. The novels often take liberties with the games' plot by exploring events occurring outside and beyond the games. This often meant that the games would later contradict the books on a few occasions. One notable addition from the novels is the original character Trent, who often served as a mysterious behind-the-scenes string-puller who aided the main characters. Perry's novels were translated and released in Japan with new cover arts by Wolfina. Perry's novels, particularly ''The Umbrella Conspiracy'', also alluded to events in ''Biohazard: The Beginning'', such as the disappearance of Billy Rabbitson and Brian Irons' bid to run for Mayor. A reprinting of Perry's novels with new cover artwork began in 2012 to coincide with the release of '' Resident Evil: Retribution'' and its respective novelization. There are a trilogy of original ''Biohazard'' novels in Japan. was published in 1998 and was written by Kyū Asakura and the staff of Flagship. Two additional novels were published in 2002, ''To the Liberty'' by Sudan Kimura and ''Rose Blank'' by Tadashi Aizawa. While no official English translation of these novels has been published yet, the last two books were translated into German and published in 2006. Novelizations of three of the six Paul Anderson films; ''Genesis'', ''Apocalypse'', and ''Extinction'', were written by
Keith DeCandido Keith Robert Andreassi DeCandido (born April 18, 1969) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and musician, who works on comic books, novels, role-playing games and video games, including numerous media tie-in books for properties such ...
. ''Afterlife'' did not receive a novelization due to Capcom's decision to discontinue working with
Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...
, who had been their primary source of publishing books up to that point, Capcom would later make
Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...
their primary publisher going forth. ''Retribution'' was written by
John Shirley John Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of fantasy, science fiction, dark street fiction, westerns, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', and ...
, while ''The Final Chapter'' was written by
Tim Waggoner Tim Waggoner is the author of numerous novels and short stories in the Fantasy, Horror, and Thriller genres. Education Waggoner graduated from Wright State University in 1989 with a Master of Arts in English with a Creative Writing Concentra ...
. ''Genesis'' was published over two years after that film's release and coincided with the publication of ''Apocalypse'', ''Genesis'' being marketed as a prequel to ''Apocalypse'', while the ''Extinction'' novel was released in late July 2007, two months before the film's release. ''The Final Chapter'' was published in December 2016 alongside the film's theatrical release. There was also a Japanese novelization of the first film, unrelated to DeCandido's version, written by Osamu Makino. Makino also wrote two novels based on the game ''Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles''. The books are a two-part direct novelization of the game and are published in Japanese and German only. The first novel, titled ''Biohazard: The Umbrella Chronicles Side A'' in Japan and ''Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles 1'' in Germany, was released on December 22, 2007. The second novel, titled ''Biohazard: The Umbrella Chronicles Side B'' in Japan and ''Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles 2'' in Germany, was published in January 2008.


Comics

In 1997,
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
published a single-issue prologue comic based on the original ''Resident Evil'', released through a promotional giveaway alongside the original PlayStation game. In 1998,
WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wilds ...
began producing a monthly comic book series based on the first two games, titled ''Resident Evil: The Official Comic Magazine'', which lasted five issues. The first four issues were published by
Image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
, while Wildstorm themselves published the fifth and final issue. Each issue was a compilation of short stories that were both adaptations of events from the games and related side stories. Like the Perry novels, the comics also explored events occurring beyond ''Resident Evil 2'' (the latest game during the series' publication) and thus were contradicted by later games. Wildstorm also published a four-issue miniseries titled ''Resident Evil: Fire & Ice'', which depicted the ordeal of Charlie Team, a third STARS team created specifically for the comic. In 2009, Wildstorm reprinted ''Fire & Ice'' in a trade paperback collection. In Hong Kong, there has been officially licensed ''Biohazard''
manhua () are Chinese-language comics produced in China and Taiwan. Whilst Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China in some shape or form throughout its imperial history, the term first appeared in 1904 in a comic titled ''Cu ...
adaptations of ''Biohazard 0'' by publisher Yulang Group, ''Biohazard 2'' by Kings Fountain, ''Biohazard 3 Supplemental Edition'' by Cao Zhihao and, ''Biohazard 3 The Last Escape'', and ''Biohazard Code: Veronica'' by Lee Chung Hing published by Tinhangse Publishing. The Code: Veronica manhua was translated into English, formatted to look like an American comic and distributed by WildStorm as a series of four graphic novel collections. In 2009, Wildstorm began publishing a comic book prequel to ''Resident Evil 5'', titled ''Resident Evil'', which centers around two original members of the BSAA named Mina Gere and Holiday Sugarman. Written by Ricardo Sanchez and illustrated by Kevin Sharpe and Jim Clark, the first issue was published on March 11, 2009. On November 11, 2009, the third issue was released, and the fourth was released March 24, 2010. The sixth and final book was finally published in February 2011.


Plays

In the summer of 2000, ''Bioroid: Year Zero'' was performed in Japan. It was a musical horror-comedy but took the perspective of the infected. Super Eccentric Theater put on the production under the direction of Osamu Yagihashi. The stage play was performed from early July to late August. ''Biohazard The Stage'' was released in Japan in 2015. The play focused on iconic characters, Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers, as Philosophy University in Australia is experiencing a bioterrorist attack. The production was handled by Avex Live Creative and Ace Crew Entertainment, under supervision from Capcom. The following year, ''Musical Biohazard ~Voice of Gaia~'' was released in September. It was produced by Umeda Arts Theater by director G2 and composer, Shunsuke Wada. ''Biohazard the Experience'' was the second ''Resident Evil'' play produced by Avex Live Creative and Ace Crew Entertainment. The story is set in 2015 and follows a cast of thirteen survivors who were abducted and woke up in a mansion during an outbreak.


Reception and legacy

Most of the games in the prominent ''Resident Evil'' series have been released to positive reviews. Some of the games, most notably ''Resident Evil'', ''Resident Evil 2'' and ''Resident Evil 4'', have been bestowed with multiple
Game of the Year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given by various award events and media publications to a video game that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...
honors and often placed on lists of the best video games ever made. In 1999, '' Next Generation'' listed the ''Resident Evil'' series as number 13 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "Flawless graphics, excellent music, and a top-notch storyline all combined to make a game of unparalleled atmosphere and suspense." In 2012, ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked ''Resident Evil'' at number 22 on the list of the best video game franchises. That same year,
G4tv G4 (also known as G4TV) was an American pay television and digital network owned by Comcast Spectacor that primarily focused on video games. The network was originally owned by G4 Media, a joint venture between the NBCUniversal Cable division ...
called it "one of the most successful series in gaming history."


Commercial performance

As of September 30, 2021, the series has sold units worldwide. The first two ''Resident Evil'' games had collectively sold approximately units worldwide by March 1999. By early 2001, the series had sold units worldwide, earning more than . By 2011, it had sold about units and was estimated to have grossed at least more than in video game sales. It is recognized by ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the best-selling survival horror series, with ''Resident Evil 5'' the best-selling survival horror game, . Seven of the top ten best-selling horror games in North America are ''Resident Evil'' titles, with ''Resident Evil 5'' the best-selling horror game, . The ''Resident Evil'' film adaptations also went on to become the highest-grossing film series based on video games by 2012. By 2011, the films had grossed over at the box office, bringing the franchise's estimated revenue to at least more than in combined video game sales and box office gross up until then. , the films have grossed more than in box office and home video sales. The success of the video games and films have made ''Resident Evil'' the highest-grossing franchise in the horror and zombie genres.


Cultural impact

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
listed the original ''Resident Evil'' as one of the fifteen most influential video games of all time. It is credited with defining and popularizing the
survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
genre of games. It is also credited with taking
video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
in a cinematic direction with its
B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...
style
cut-scenes A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
, including live-action
full-motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information durin ...
(FMV) footage. Its live-action opening, however, was controversial; it became one of the first
action games An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...
to receive the "Mature 17+" (M) rating from the
Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
(ESRB), despite the opening cutscene being censored in North America. The ''Resident Evil'' franchise is credited with sparking a revival of the
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
genre in popular culture, leading to a renewed interest in
zombie films A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror g ...
during the 2000s. ''Resident Evil'' also helped redefine the zombie genre, playing an important role in its shift from supernatural themes to scientific themes by using science to explain the origins of zombies. According to
Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...
in the book '' Nightmare Movies'' (2011), "the zombie revival began in the Far East" mainly due to the 1996 Japanese zombie games ''Resident Evil'' and ''
The House of the Dead ''The House of the Dead'' is a horror-themed light gun shooter video game franchise created by Sega in 1996. Originally released in arcades, it utilizes a light gun on the platform, but can be played with standard controllers on consoles and a ...
''.
George Romero George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
, in 2013, said it was the video games ''Resident Evil'' and ''House of the Dead'' "more than anything else" that popularised his zombie concept in early 21st-century popular culture. In a 2015 interview with ''
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', screenwriter-director
Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English writer and filmmaker. He rose to prominence as a novelist in the late 1990s with his novel '' The Beach'', which led some critics to call Garland a key voice of Generation X. He subsequ ...
credited the ''Resident Evil'' series as a primary influence on his script for the
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
'' 28 Days Later'' (2002), and credited the first ''Resident Evil'' game for revitalizing the zombie genre. Screenwriter
Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...
cited ''Resident Evil 2'' as a primary influence on his
zombie comedy The zombie comedy, often called zom com or zomedy, is a film genre that aims to blend zombie horror motifs with slapstick comedy as well as morbid humor. History The earliest roots of the genre can be found in Jean Yarbrough's ''King of the ...
film ''
Shaun of the Dead ''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed (Nick Frost). The fi ...
'' (2004), with the film's star and co-writer
Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
also crediting the first game with starting the zombie revival in popular culture. ''The Walking Dead'' comic book creator Robert Kirkman cited ''Resident Evil'' as his favorite zombie game, while ''The Walking Dead'' television series director
Greg Nicotero Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an American special make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film ''Day of the Dead'' (1985), under the tutel ...
credited ''Resident Evil'' and ''The House of the Dead'' with introducing the zombie genre "to a whole generation of younger people who didn’t grow up watching ''Night of the Living Dead'' and ''Dawn of the Dead''." The ''Resident Evil'' Apocalypse zombies were conceptualized and choreographed by Sharon B. Moore and Derek Aasland. Through script analysis and movement research a “scientific logic” was devised for the T-Virus accounting for each Zombie behaviour envisioned in
Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...
script. Sharon B. Moore and Derek Aasland then wrote the so-called Undead Bible - a Handbook for the Undead - used as the guide for the nearly 1000 cast under the choreographic department (stunt performers, actors, dancers, extras) to ensure the Undead physicality was performed in a unified way across the picture.  The Stunt and Core teams participated in the “Undead Bootcamp”.  See also 2007 Documentary ''Undead Bootcamp'' starring producer
Jeremy Bolt Jeremy Bolt (born 1965) is a British film producer. After co-founding Impact Pictures with Paul W. S. Anderson in 1992, Bolt has produced the majority of Anderson's films. He is most well-known for producing the ''Resident Evil'' series and '' D ...
, director
Alexander Witt Alexander B. Witt (born 1952) is a Chilean-American filmmaker and cinematographer mostly known for his work as a camera operator and second unit director, including regular collaborations with director Ridley Scott. Life & career From a 2 ...
, and choreographers Sharon B. Moore and Derek Aasland. On the DVD Featurette ‘''Resident Evil; Game Over''’ RE2 Apocalypse director
Alexander Witt Alexander B. Witt (born 1952) is a Chilean-American filmmaker and cinematographer mostly known for his work as a camera operator and second unit director, including regular collaborations with director Ridley Scott. Life & career From a 2 ...
said the zombies needed to be "more aggressive and more dangerous" than the original film, so they were created by the film’s choreographers Sharon B. Moore and Derek Aasland as "liquid zombie in terms of their relentless forward motion: unstoppable, flowing around any kind of resistance, and then rushing in on the final attack. This is also detailed in the University of Liverpool book Biopunk Dystopias Genetic Engineering, Society, and Science Fiction (Lars Schmeink, 2016, p.214)  Additionally, the first ''Resident Evil'' film adaptation also contributed to the revival of zombie films, with the success of the film and the games resulting in zombies achieving greater mainstream prominence and several zombie films being greenlit, such as the video game film adaptation '' House of the Dead'' (2003), the remake '' Dawn of the Dead'' (2004) and Romero's ''
Land of the Dead ''Land of the Dead'' (also known as ''George A. Romero's Land of the Dead'') is a 2005 post-apocalyptic horror film written and directed by George A. Romero; the fourth of Romero's six '' Living Dead'' movies, it is preceded by ''Night of the Li ...
'' (2004). The ''Resident Evil'' films, ''28 Days Later'' and the ''Dawn of the Dead'' remake all set box office records for the zombie genre, reaching levels of commercial success not seen since the original '' Dawn of the Dead'' (1978). They were followed by other zombie films such as '' 28 Weeks Later'' (2007), ''
Zombieland ''Zombieland'' is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer in his theatrical debut and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film follows a geeky college student ( Jesse Eisenberg) making his wa ...
'' (2009), ''
Cockneys vs Zombies ''Cockneys vs Zombies'' is a 2012 British zombie comedy film directed by Matthias Hoene and written by James Moran and Lucas Roche. The plot centres on a group of Cockneys who arm themselves to rescue their grandfather and his friends from their ...
'' (2012), and ''
World War Z ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Ti ...
'' (2013), as well as zombie-themed graphic novels and television shows such as '' The Walking Dead'' and '' The Returned'', and books such as ''
World War Z ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Ti ...
'' (2006), ''
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' is a 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was fir ...
'' (2009) and ''
Warm Bodies ''Warm Bodies'' is a novel by author Isaac Marion. The book was described as a "zombie romance" by the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' and makes allusions to William Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet''. The author, based in Seattle, originally wr ...
'' (2010). The zombie revival trend was popular across different media up until the mid-2010s. Since then, zombie films have declined in popularity during the late 2010s, but
zombie video games This is an incomplete list of video games strongly featuring zombies. These games feature creatures inspired by the archetypal flesh-eating zombies seen in horror films, B-movies and literature; such as in the films of George A. Romero. Other var ...
have remained popular, as seen with the commercial success of the ''Resident Evil 2'' remake and ''
Days Gone ''Days Gone'' is a 2019 action-adventure video game developed by Bend Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. A Windows port was released in May 2021. The game is set in post-apocalyptic Oregon two years ...
'' in 2019.


See also

*
Genetic engineering in fiction Aspects of genetics including mutation, hybridisation, cloning, genetic engineering, and eugenics have appeared in fiction since the 19th century. Genetics is a young science, having started in 1900 with the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's stu ...
*
List of fictional diseases Diseases, disorders, infections, and pathogens have appeared in fiction as part of a major plot or thematic importance. They may be fictional psychological disorders, magical, from mythological or fantasy settings, have evolved naturally, bee ...
*
List of zombie video games This is an incomplete list of video games strongly featuring zombies. These games feature creatures inspired by the archetypal flesh-eating zombies seen in horror films, B-movies and literature; such as in the films of George A. Romero. Other var ...
* ''
Dino Crisis is a survival horror and action-adventure video game series created by Shinji Mikami and developed and published by Capcom. The plot focuses on recurring outbreaks of deadly dinosaurs in closed environments, such as a laboratory on an island. ...
'', another horror series by Capcom * ''
Devil May Cry is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists o ...
'', another series by Capcom, initially conceived as the fourth title in the series * ''
Onimusha is a series of video games developed and published by Capcom. It makes use of the historic figures that shaped Japan's history, retelling their stories with supernatural elements. Most of the games are of the action-adventure genre, a combinat ...
'', another series by Capcom with similar gameplay, initially conceived as a spin-off * ''
The Evil Within ''The Evil Within'' is a survival horror video game developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game was directed by ''Resident Evil'' series creator Shinji Mikami and was released worldwide in October 2014 for PlayStat ...
'', other horror game made by Shinji Mikami


Notes


References


External links

* *
Undead Bootcamp - Resident Evil Apocalypse - (2007 - Documentary)
{{Authority control Biopunk Capcom franchises Experimental medical treatments in fiction Genetic engineering in fiction Horror video games Survival video games Video game franchises introduced in 1996 Video games about viral outbreaks Video games adapted into television shows Video games adapted into comics Video games adapted into films Video games adapted into novels Video games about zombies Human experimentation in fiction