Resident Evil 9 Was Originally a Co-Op Game Set on a Singaporean Island

Capcom’s next Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 9, is still a mystery. There are no trailers, gameplay clips, or confirmed details about the story. All Capcom has said so far is that the game is in development. The only real information we have right now comes from a well-known insider named Dusk Golem, who also goes by the name AestheticGamer online. On May 22, 2025, he shared several posts revealing that Resident Evil 9 originally started out as a very different kind of game than what fans can expect to play when it finally releases.

According to Dusk Golem, Resident Evil 9 began development in early 2017, shortly after the release of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Although RE7 launched to critical praise, Capcom was initially disappointed with its sales performance. This led the company to take a reactionary approach in the early planning stages of the next game. Instead of continuing with the first-person, single-player horror formula that RE7 introduced, Capcom greenlit a new concept for RE9 that would be the complete opposite.

The first version of Resident Evil 9, as stated by Dusk Golem, was designed to be a large-scale, open-world multiplayer game. It was built around cooperative gameplay, with Leon S. Kennedy and Jill Valentine as the main protagonists. This was a significant shift for the franchise. Plus, the setting was not any old generic one—it was, in fact, a fictional island based directly on Singapore. The geography, environment, and aesthetic were inspired by the Southeast Asian city-state, but the setting itself was created as a fictional, rural island for more narrative flexibility.

In this version, players would have explored the island in a shared world experience, likely involving mission-based gameplay and survival elements. Though the specific gameplay mechanics have never been detailed, it was clear this game would have leaned heavily into multiplayer interaction and open-world exploration—something Resident Evil has never attempted in a mainline title.

However, this version of the game was short-lived. In 2021, the year Resident Evil Village was released, Capcom made the decision to reboot the entire project. Dusk Golem described this as a "pretty heavy" reboot, suggesting that most of the systems, settings, and structure of the game were overhauled or discarded. The multiplayer and open-world focus was dropped. Capcom decided to take Resident Evil 9 in a different direction—one more consistent with the tone and style that fans expect from the series.

Still, not everything was erased. Leon S. Kennedy remains the main protagonist of the new version of the game. Jill Valentine, while a key figure in the original version, has not been confirmed for the rebooted project. Dusk Golem did not clarify if she is still in the game. Rumors about Jill being involved in a hospital sequence were dismissed by the insider as false. He stated that nearly all the rumors circulating now are based on outdated information from the pre-2021 build.

The fictional island based on Singapore may still be part of the rebooted version. Dusk Golem has said that the current setting is still a rural town on a Southeast Asian island, which implies that the new version retains at least some geographical elements from the original plan. This would continue Capcom’s recent trend of using isolated, culture-specific locations—like Eastern Europe in Village and Spain in Resident Evil 4—as the foundation for immersive horror settings.

The rebooted Resident Evil 9 is expected to be revealed publicly in 2025. According to Dusk Golem, this is “almost 100%” certain. The exact timing of the reveal is not confirmed, but potential events include Summer Game Fest in June, Gamescom in August, Tokyo Game Show in September, or The Game Awards in December. The timing of this announcement will likely determine the release window. Capcom is aiming for a 2026 release, either by the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2026 or during the second half of the 2026 calendar year.

In addition to Resident Evil 9, Capcom is reportedly working on several other projects. Remakes of Resident Evil Code Veronica and Resident Evil 0 are still in development, though not officially announced. Meanwhile, Resident Evil Revelations 3, which had long been rumored, was canceled at an unspecified date.

Outside of games, a new live-action Resident Evil movie is also in early production. While details are limited, the film’s director reportedly wants to stay closer to the tone of the games than past movie adaptations did.

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