Resident Evil: Apocalypse (バイオハザード アポカリプス baiohazādo apokaripusu )[note 1] is an upcoming video game developed by Division 1 and published by Capcom. Its title follows the naming convention started with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard in prioritising names over numbers, owing to marketing concerns that increasingly large numbers would put new players off.[1] Informally however it is still "Resident Evil 9" in all other respects. However, to date, Capcom refused to comment on the franchise's future, much to the fanbase's displeasure.
Plot[]
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Development[]
While pre-production may have begun as early as 2019 during a pre-planned expansion of Capcom's R&D teams at Division 1,[2] when actual development took place is uncertain. Presently the producer and director have not been named. As part of a long-term strategy by Capcom, it has been in parallel development with several other Resident Evil titles, with the general goal of within 2.5 years per release with the more ambitious target of annual where possible.[3][4] While Capcom uses the Nvidia GeForceNOW for cloud storage in games development, Apocalypse was not part of the September 2021 leak.[5] It was initially slated for a late 2023 release, and was teased as such in a Resident Evil Village easter egg, but has since been delayed into FY2024. Several other Capcom titles in early development during the Coronavirus pandemic also went through considerable delays, such as Dragon's Dogma 2 (Q2 FY2022, released March 2024), Street Fighter 6 (Q3 FY2022, released June 2023) and Monster Hunter Wilds (Q2 2023, now early 2025).
In 2022, Division 1 had not yet been agreed upon by developers if future titles were to be in first or third-person perspective.[6] Nothing is yet known of the story for the game. Based on comments by Kento Kinoshita and Masachika Kawata, Apocalypse will be a separate story from the Winters Saga, which was concluded with "Shadows of Rose".[6][7][8]
Further notes[]
- Before its official announcement, Apocalypse was the subject to heavy speculation by gaming news sites, which fuelled the creation of hoaxes. The Resident Evil Wiki advises they are discounted.
- Prior to the Ambassador leak which revealed Resident Evil Village in January 2020, it was misreported that Resident Evil 8 had been cancelled in mid-2019 and Resident Evil 9 consequently retitled to replace it.[9] Similarly, rumours that Apocalypse will conclude a trilogy should be considered only speculation.
- A supposed leaked Capcom design document appeared on 4chan in December 2021 describing a ghost town taken over by Wendigos, a creature in Algonquian folklore, but was declared a hoax soon after when it was ruled to be machine-translated from English to Japanese despite the original poster claiming to be a Japanese national.[10][11][12]
- A similar rumour made its way onto 4chan on 27 July 2022, also claiming it would be set in a ghost town terrorised by Wendigos, but would also include monsters such as a dog boss called "Barghest", and two Superhumans named "Glaistig" and "Hulder", of whom the former will be take on an antagonistic role while being feared by the Wendigos and the latter be a guide aiding the player. All three names are taken from European folklore. The rumour also claimed there would be theme built around a "ninth" phase of the Moon.[13] As this rumour overlaps with the 2021 rumour however, it is strongly advised it be discarded.
- These elements were reworked on 20 September 2022, with a 4chan post naming the town as "Stowe" with Ethan and Leon to be the protagonists, with the former being reunited with his family at the end. It also claims that "Shadows of Rose", released a month after this post, was being deliberately held back to keep Ethan's survival in Apocalypse a secret. As this contradicts Shadows of Rose, released a month later, this claim has also been debunked.[14]
- A 4chan post in June 2023 would make similar claims, adding that Mia Winters would be the protagonist investigating a town in Nevada with enemies inspired by Native American myths, set for a 2024 release with an announcement in late 2023.[15]
- A rumour originating on Twitter in October 2023 suggests it would be the biggest game in terms of budget and longest in terms of gameplay. Similar claims have been made for other games in the franchise, and it could be seen as speculative.[16][17]
- In March 2024 an image made its way around the internet purported to be a leaked Capcom release schedule document. However, this was largely written-off as a hoax due to the lack of several upcoming games. Several news sties mistakenly reported on the fictitious Resident Evil X, releasing October 2025, as Resident Evil 9.[18]
- Originally making its way online on 12 October 2020, a rumour emerged that Apocalypse would be set in Singapore. This made its way mainstream in May 2024.
- Several posters and alternate titles have been distributed online, but it should be noted they are fan art, joke names and guesses and should not be taken as legitimate. These names include "Crucifix", "Exit" and "Phoenix".
Sources[]
- notes
- ↑ As the information is from several years ago, this working title may have been superseded.
- references
- ↑ 「バイオハザード ヴィレッジ」ディレクター佐藤盛正氏にインタビュー。目指したのは"死にものぐるいのサバイバルホラー" (Japanese). 4gamer. Retrieved on 2023-11-01.
- ↑ 『バイオRE:2』や『DMC5』などを世に送り出す、カプコンCS第一開発部が目指すものとは? 統括の竹内潤氏へ直撃インタビュー! (Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved on 2023-10-28.
- ↑ Capcom Annual Report 2016. Capcom. Retrieved on 2023-11-13.
- ↑ 映画『バイオハザード:デスアイランド』はゾンビに勝ち目がなさすぎる。CG長編映画に初登場のジル・バレンタインや歴代主人公たちが一堂に会する "おまつり騒ぎ" の狙いを制作陣に聞いてみた (Japanese). denfaminicogamer. Retrieved on 2023-11-13.
- ↑ Found 18K+ games on NVIDIA GeForce NOW. Medium. Retrieved on 2023-11-22.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 『バイオ ヴィレッジ GE』開発インタビュー。三人称視点やローズの物語、新キャラのポイントは?【TGS2022】 (Japanese). Dengeki Online (18 Sep 2022). Retrieved on 2023-11-01.
- ↑ 『バイオ ヴィレッジ GE』追加シナリオ「シャドウズ オブ ローズ」プレイ映像&インタビュー (Japanese). Shueisha (19 Sep 2022). Retrieved on 2023-11-01.
- ↑ Resident Evil Village's Shadows of Rose DLC Will 'Conclude the Winters Family Saga'. IGN (SEP 18, 2022). Retrieved on 2023-11-14.
- ↑ Resident Evil 8 is "Years Away", Rebooted 6-7 Months Ago – Insider. GamingBolt (22nd Jan 2020). Retrieved on 2023-11-13.
- ↑ re:apocalypse - dev doc presentation. arch.b4k.co (Sun 19 Dec 2021). Retrieved on 2023-11-02.
- ↑ Resident Evil Apocalypse - dev document leak from 4chan. r/gamingleaksandrumours (Sun Dec 2019). Retrieved on 2023-11-02.
- ↑ Resident Evil Apocalypse Leaked. Restera (Dec 19, 2021). Retrieved on 2023-11-02.
- ↑ Resident Evil 9 - Apocalypse [MoonPhase9]. arch.b4k.co (27 Jul 2022). Retrieved on 2023-11-02.
- ↑ Resident Evil 9 RE_9. arch.b4k.co (Tue 20 Sep 2022). Retrieved on 2023-11-02.
- ↑ Resident Evil 9. arch.b4k.co (Sun 04 Jun 2023). Retrieved on 2023-11-09.
- ↑ Resident Evil 9 May Not Be a Direct Sequel to Village; Will Be Both a Closing and Beginning Chapter – Rumor. WCCtech (Oct 31, 2023). Retrieved on 2023-11-06.
- ↑ Resident Evil 9 has ‘the biggest budget’ ever for the series claims insider. Metro. Retrieved on 2023-11-22.
- ↑ Thanks to a leak, release dates for Monster Hunter Wilds, Resident Evil 9 and Pragmata have been revealed. gagadget. Retrieved on 2024-03-21.
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