Insider Reveals: Resident Evil 9 Aims to Redefine the Franchise with Grand Ambitions

Insider Dusk Golem occasionally shares insights about the **Resident Evil** franchise. While not all of his claims turn out to be accurate, some information is indeed validated. We’ve compiled intriguing details from several threads of Dusk Golem on the social platform X.

(1/6) Over the years, most rumors I’ve encountered regarding RE9 have been nonsense. The one about a Native American Wendigo blood moon? Nonsense. The Goat Man alongside Jill in a hospital? Nonsense. Andi is the only individual whose information I’ve been able to confirm as accurate, some of which I’ve previously mentioned [here](https://t.co/sd95wAGhZN).

(2/6) A lot of what he has shared originates from an earlier canceled iteration of RE9, which he first discussed about 11-12 months ago. Development on RE9 started in 2017 (Andi mentions 2016/2017, but it actually kicked off in early 2017 after RE7 fell short of Capcom’s launch expectations).

(3/6) Although RE7 ultimately excelled in sales thereafter, there was a reactionary approach involved. The initial concept for RE9 aimed to diverge from RE7 by being a large open-world multiplayer experience. Leon and Jill were set to star in a fictional island environment inspired by Singapore.

(4/6) Andi never disclosed the setting, but that’s where the previous version of RE9 was intended to take place. HOWEVER, it is important to note that this refers to the former iteration of RE9, which underwent a significant overhaul in 2021 around the release of Village, though some elements remained, such as Leon still being the primary character.

(5/6) I’ll allow Capcom to announce the rest; I’ve opted to take on a teasing role rather than spill more leaks, as I’ve stated before. However, I find canceled game details fascinating. A few months back, Andi also alluded to aspects of the Zero Remake and Code Veronica Remake that I know to be accurate, albeit somewhat outdated.

(6/7) For instance, RE:0 underwent some significant alterations about six months ago, and he’s correct in indicating that a RE1 Remake was not under development as of 2023 (which I’ve also been asserting for a while, concerning the RE1 Remake rumors that are unfounded). So, if he mentions an upcoming reveal, I trust him.

(7/7) He is likewise correct that the Rebecca-centered Revelations 3, which I mentioned earlier in the 2020s, was canceled in 2022 and was initially designed as a Switch game. Let Capcom handle their own announcements regarding RE9; I just find the behind-the-scenes development aspects intriguing.

(1/2) Unfortunately, the situation is rather dull. Revelations 3, like its predecessors, was not primarily developed in-house at Capcom. The results they received just weren’t favorable; they were subpar. At that time, Capcom had also taken on the development of RE:4 from M-Two, and RE9 had recently been restructured, requiring all available resources for RE:4 and RE9.

(2/2) Rather than attempting to salvage Rev 3 themselves, they likely found it more feasible to let it go due to the required manpower and budget, choosing instead to concentrate on RE:4 and RE9.

(1/3) I’ve publicly stated since 2021 that Resident Evil 9 is an incredibly ambitious project. I mean a great deal by that. Development began in 2017, and the release is slated for 2026. By the time it launches, it will have been in development for nearly nine years, marking the longest development cycle for any RE game to date.

(2/3) The game intends to set a new benchmark for the series and reinvent certain elements, reminiscent of what we’ve seen in RE4 and RE7. Capcom aspires for RE9 to reach a high-quality standard, aiming to be the first mainline non-remake RE title since the original RE4 to achieve a Metacritic score of 90+.

(3/3) It boasts the largest budget of any Resident Evil game thus far, exploring new territories while incorporating diverse, high-quality content across various aspects, including graphics and audio. As I’ve consistently mentioned since 2021, RE9 is simply an extraordinarily ambitious game.