The Resident Evil series has enthralled gamers over the past few decades with a mix of survival horror and complex storytelling. New leaks now expose a fascinating glimpse into an abandoned vision for next year’s Resident Evil 9, with a shocking divergence from the series’ conventional formula.
Initial development on Resident Evil 9 seemed to have seen the game as an audacious open-world multiplayer title. This ambitious concept was to feature two of the series’ top heroes, Leon S. Kennedy and Jill Valentine, and have them explore a world based on the crowded and chaotic city life of Singapore. This would have been a departure for Resident Evil, which had until then been associated with more linear, single-player oriented campaigns of tension and atmosphere.
Those plans were eventually put on the backburner. The change from the open-world multiplayer comes due to the unforeseen long-term success of Resident Evil 7. Resident Evil 7’s initial sales were relatively modest, but its return to central horror axes and first-person gameplay struck chords in the hearts of many critics and players in the long run to make it one of the highest-selling titles in the series. This upbeat performance clearly left a mark on Capcom’s future game plan.
Although the engaging theme of open-world has been dropped, the fans are still expecting Leon S. Kennedy to make an appearance. The latest signs are that Leon will be the central protagonist of Resident Evil 9, where he continues his star involvement in the expanding horror series. This announcement will surely be a reassuring echo of similarity and anticipation for die-hard supporters of the series despite information about the ultimate form of the game still being out of reach to us. The process of developing a game over the lifespan of its development cycle usually involves such transformations, and this specific announcement is a special glimpse into the developmental process of one of the longest-running franchises in gaming history.
