Mohamed Hassan 
Resident Evil 9 will reportedly be a drastic shift for the series, a pivot that will see the popular horror series embrace an open-world design for the first time.
Open-world horror games have come a long way in recent years. Games like The Evil Within 2, Dying Light, and Days Gone have pushed the boundaries of what the horror genre can look like with their vast landscapes and greater player freedom. Resident Evil 8 wasn’t open-world, but it emphasized exploration in a way that other games in the series hadn’t.
Resident Evil 9 may be taking things a step further. As with games like the Final Fantasy 7 remake series and, according to reports, the next Call of Duty, the game will be making the move to open-world gameplay.
Resident Evil 9 reportedly going open-world, will build on Dragon’s Dogma 2
Resident Evil 9 will reportedly be the first entry in the series to go full open-world, but it should still retain what fans have loved about the series.
According to AestheticGamer, also known as Dusk Golem on X, Capcom greenlights and works on games in groups of three based on advancements in the RE Engine. Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2 Remake, and Devil May Cry 5 were cited as one of the batches of games that got greenlit together. Dusk Golem has accurately scooped Capcom and Konami on news related to horror games in the past.
They state that Dragon’s Dogma 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Resident Evil 9 were given the go-ahead together. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the first of those three to ship, and they suggest that the other two will build on the open-world mechanics it’s building into the RE Engine. However, Dusk Golem emphasized that “part of all three project goals has been to retain the series DNA”.
If true, Resident Evil 9 may not end up too different from its predecessors. An open-world setting could work well for both an urban-themed game like Resident Evil 2, or an outdoors setting like much of Resident Evil 4.
When is Resident Evil 9 going to release?
There is no confirmed release date for Resident Evil 9, but the game could launch in 2025 based on Capcom precedent.
Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 8, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 4 were all revealed in the month of June and released within a year of the announcement. The Resident Evil 3 remake was also announced in December 2019 in a Sony State of Play and released shortly thereafter in 2020.
Dusk Golem reportedly stated on The Snitch’s Discord, a social media hub for notable video game industry leakers, that an announcement and 2025 release date is planned for Resident Evil 9. Monster Hunter Wilds is also scheduled for release in 2025 and Capcom has proven itself willing to publish multiple games within the same year, as seen in 2023 with Street Fighter 6 and the Resident Evil 4 remake.
Resident Evil 9 has reportedly been in the works since 2021, though there’s still no official confirmation of the game, never mind any release date details.
