Notable leaker AestheticGamer, aka Dusk Golem, has provided some context on the rumours surrounding Resident Evil 9. While there have been some details floating around about what Capcom’s follow-up to Resident Evil Village would be about, according to the leaker, a lot of the details that aren’t just false, largely come from an older, now-scrapped version of Resident Evil 9 that was in development.
In a series of posts on social media platform X, AestheticGamer wrote about the older version of Resident Evil 9, development on which had apparently started all the way back in 2017, right after the release of Resident Evil 7. The game was seemingly being designed to be the complete opposite of what we got in RE7, with an open world and some multiplayer components, as a response by Capcom to RE7 missing sales expectations around its launch.
However, it is worth noting that Resident Evil 7 went on to become quite successful for Capcom, with many fans also pointing to its release as one of the big turning points for the company in terms of the quality of its games rising. The original version of Resident Evil 9 apparently revolved around Leon and Jill being stuck on a fictional island off the coast of Singapore.
While this version of the game has been scrapped, with development on Resident Evil 9 getting a “pretty heavy reboot” in 2021, the current version of the horror game will reportedly still feature Leon Kennedy as its protagonist. AestheticGamer has also posted that a sequel to the Resident Evil: Revelations series that would revolve around Rebecca has been scrapped as well as of 2022.
According to AestheticGamer, ScreenFire Germany host Andi is likely correct about Capcom getting ready to officially unveil Resident Evil 9 during the upcoming Sumer Games Fest, with a Q1 2026 release window. Other interesting details include remakes for Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Resident Evil 0 being worked on are also being corroborated by AestheticGamer.
Earlier this month, the leaker also said that Capcom is “100%” going reveal Resident Evil 9 some time later this year. However, they weren’t quite sure about whether this reveal would happen sooner in the year – Summer Games Fest – or at events later on, such as The Game Awards in December.
For its part, Capcom has been quiet about the future of the Resident Evil franchise after having last released the remake for Resident Evil 4. Celebrating that title, however, the company released a video that might just be hinting towards a mainline sequel. In the video, fans of the franchise noticed a wooden post with signs thanking players. The post also happens to be in a shape that, when turned counter-clockwise, is the Roman numeral for the number 9.
Earlier rumours have indicated that Capcom is planning to go big with Resident Evil 9. According to these rumours, the title will be a reinvention of the Resident Evil franchise, with comparisons to Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 7 being brought up.
