Resident Evil 9 leak has an interesting tease of the franchise’s future
We could be in the endgame of the Resident Evil franchise, at least in its current form. As we wait patiently for Capcom to give us an update on where the next mainline entry is up to, we're left enjoying legacy games like Resident Evil 4, repackaged as glossy, new-gen remakes.
It's been three years since Lady Dimitrescu spread her vampiric wings and took flight with Resident Evil Village. Raccoon City is just a distant memory, and while that comes with complaints the Resiverse has lost its way amidst increasingly outlandish stories, we love it. Where else will a man mutate into a murderous mech?
Resident Evil 9 leaks make for interesting reading
The success of Village meant Resident Evil 9 was always going to shamble into our lives, but considering how batsh*t the past two titles have been (while harking back to the franchise's horror roots), it's anyone's guess where the story goes next. Now, one noted "insider" has a few morsels of information to tide us over.
Trusted Resi leaker DuskGolem has somewhat satisfied our hunger on Discord, with the supposed leaks appearing on the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit. They interestingly say that RE9 isn't a direct sequel to Village (like Village was to RE7), more that it was planned alongside the eighth main game.
They claim that Resident Evil 9 could release in 2025, following a 2024 announcement. If you believe it's been in development since 2018, this would be the longest development for any game in the series. Either way, RE9 is thought to be the "closing" chapter of the current arc.
Considering the first three games were considered the "Raccoon City Trilogy," you then got the global trilogy with RE4-RE6, and then the next three initially being considered The Winters Trilogy. We've already heard that's not necessarily true, but it still makes sense to bookend another trilogy with Resident Evil 9.
Could more legacy characters return in Resident Evil 9?
Click to enlargeIf this is the end of an era, the big question is who from the Resiverse's past will rear their head. Alongside the rumoured return of Jill Valentine after being MIA since RE5, remember that Ada Wong was originally supposed to be part of Village. Beyond that, we could get a full-blown Avengers with Chris, Claire, Jill, Ada, and Leon.
Given the end of Village and the Shadows of Rose DLC, Chris Redfield looks like a certainty, although we hope some others will at least be stopping by for a visit. Whether it's series stalwarts or forgotten characters like Sheva Alomar and Jake Muller, the idea that this is the end of another chapter means Capcom can go all out.
You might remember the megadump of Resident Evil 9 leaks, which had story details like a female bioweapon and Wendigos, although its legitimacy has been questioned. Capcom has an unannounced game coming in 2024, and while we doubt it'll be RE9, fingers crossed that the franchise will be rising from the grave with some news next year.
