Capcom Scraps Resident Evil 9 Open-World Multiplayer Concept, Entered Final Development Phase

Resident Evil 9 was supposed to be an open-world multiplayer game, which is very different from how the series usually plays. Fans were excited that Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine, two characters they loved, would be back in the game as playable main characters. But not everyone liked this direction. 

Many people in the community were against turning a franchise known for atmospheric horror and tightly planned campaigns into an open-world multiplayer game. It looks like Capcom has discarded this original plan. Dusk Golem, who is probably the most well-known leaker in the Resident Evil community, just released a new Q&A session that we used to write this third part of our series.

It is said that Resident Evil 9 is the biggest project in the series' history. Capcom is putting resources into the game that have never been seen before—the budget is higher than any other entry. With cutting-edge graphics, better sound design, and a wide range of game modes, it's clear that they want to give players a high-quality experience that goes beyond what a Resident Evil game can be.

Since 2021, it's been clear that RE9 is going to be a massive game with a lot of content. New information from Dusk Golem says that Capcom is adding a lot of different things to the game, so both longtime fans and people who have never played it before should enjoy it.

One interesting point Dusk made was about when and how the game was revealed. Resident Evil games have usually been shown off at Sony events, but Capcom has recently increased the number of marketing partnerships it has. For example, it now works with Geoff Keighley, who puts on events like The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest. Since there are rumors that Sony might not hold an event this summer, this change could mean that Resident Evil 9 will be announced differently.

Summer Game Fest is set to happen early next month and is widely watched by gamers. It seems like the perfect place for Capcom to reveal Resident Evil 9. Dusk Golem said he was sure that the game would be officially announced this year, and a release date in 2026 was set.

Capcom has already pushed back RE9's release date twice, but new reports say the game doesn't need as much time to be made anymore. The most important question is whether the game will come out before or after Capcom's fiscal year ends on March 31, 2026. As a guess, Dusk says that if Capcom wants to release RE9 before June 2026, the news will probably be made at this Summer Game Fest to take advantage of the extra attention.

Capcom has traditionally used summer events to make big announcements because they get a lot of attention. Everyone in the video game world is watching, so it would be a shame not to reveal RE9 now.

In terms of how the game was made, Resident Evil 9 has been restarted more than once. This happens a lot in this series; Resident Evil 4 famously went through several versions; one of them looked a lot like Devil May Cry before it was thrown out. After earlier versions were dropped, the current Resident Evil 9 project started up again in 2021 with a new team of developers.

Because Capcom invested a lot of money in this game, they're probably feeling pressure to make it better than all the other RE games in terms of variety, quality, and new ideas. As shown by the huge budget and scope of the project, Capcom is very sure that the franchise will continue to do well.

A big question that fans have been asking is whether RE9 will keep the scary atmosphere that the series is known for. As Dusk Golem says, the game is meant to be scarier than recent games like Resident Evil 8. RE8 was a bit more about action than RE7, which was all about tension and fear. People say that RE9 will focus even more on psychological horror and make environments that are tense and immersive, with a focus on fear over action.

Capcom has learned from player feedback that the most memorable and well-liked parts of the franchise are the scary parts. They know that action scenes are important, but they shouldn't take away from the horror. This philosophy was said to have been a big part of the many restarts that happened during development to ensure that the game really scared people.

There is talk that RE9 will mostly be a third-person game, with a possible first-person mode that can be chosen at the start. This is different from how RE8 Gold Edition was made. Even though Dusk Golem hasn't said for sure, this fits with rumors and whispers in the community.

Leon and Jill, the game's main characters, were supposed to explore a made-up island based on Singapore in Resident Evil 9's original open-world multiplayer concept. Although this idea was eventually discarded, it added a new twist to the franchise.

Resident Evil's multiplayer has always worked best when players work together, like in Resident Evil 5 and 6, rather than when they try to beat each other. Capcom could still add multiplayer co-op features to Resident Evil 9, but for now, the specifics are still not clear. Finally, some of the RE9 content that was thrown out might not be gone forever. For example, Jill Valentine's role might still be playable.

Capcom often uses old ideas in new games or remakes that were never made before. In the case of RE4, ideas that were cut were used in both RE5 and the remake of RE4. Some of the content that wasn't included in RE9 might show up in spin-offs or Resident Evil-related projects.