Resident Evil 9will be the next official chapter in the fabled horror franchise, chasing 2021’sResident Evil Villageand last year’s landmarkResident Evil 4 Remake. There’s a lot of interesting potential forResident Evil 9to reintroduce classic characters, concepts, and gameplay mechanics, but Capcom has been surprisingly tight-lipped on the matter these past few years, leaving fans to speculate among themselves.
But that doesn’t mean that the world of gaming news has been totally bereft of information, as the rumor mill is churning at full speed. Perhaps the most significant and oft-discussedResident Evil 9rumor revolves around the possibility of open-world adoption—a huge, daunting prospect for the famously linear series. However, there are a few other interesting possibilities that have been floated by leakers and rumor peddlers both big and small, which help paint a tentative picture of what the game might look like when it finally releases.
The Biggest Resident Evil 9 Rumors and Leaks
Resident Evil 9 Might Be Open-World
It’s worth starting with the most infamousResident Evil 9rumor:RE9could go open-world. This possibility was first floated by notable leaker Dusk Golem on Twitter this past March, who cited the “expanded functionality” of the RE Engine as a primary motivation for this fundamental change. DuskGolem linked this expanded functionality toDragon’s Dogma 2, another Capcom game that used the RE Engine for solid open-world results.
Naturally, this has spawned a wide variety of responses from theREfanbase, with many arguing that the open-world format would be a bridge too far for the series, which has always put more curated set-pieces and levels front and center. There’s validity to these concerns, but there’s alsoa lot of promise inResident Evil 9going open-world: the series has featured more open-ended environment design in past entries, including the very firstResident EvilandResident Evil 2, and games likeThe Evil Within 2prove that open-world structure can be used to great effect in the survival horror genre. As with any rumor, fans will have to take it with a pinch of salt and reserve judgment until they see the final product.
Resident Evil 9’s Protagonist and Setting
Resident Evil 9’s choice of protagonistwill likely have major implications for both its story and gameplay elements, echoing the essential changes that coincided with the arrival of Ethan Winters inRE7. With Ethan out of the picture, it’s been speculated that a legacy hero will return, with 4Chan user Chris Marx claiming that Chris Redfield will take center stage, joined by other old faces like Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine, and Claire Redfield.
This mash-up of classic characters could be reminiscent ofResident Evil 6, for better or worse.
Leaksregarding the setting ofResident Evil 9have been somewhat contested. 4Chan leaks in 2022 claimed that the game will take place in North America, featuring creatures like Wendigos and Skinwalkers, similarly leaning into real-world mythology asResident Evil Village. Conversely, the aforementioned Dusk Golem claimed that the game will be set in Southeast Asia, on an island taking inspiration from Singapore.
Resident Evil 9’s Possible Title
In the same 2022 4chan leak discussing the North American setting, it was suggested that the working title forRE9isResident Evil Apocalypse. While this wouldn’t necessarily reveal anything concrete, theApocalypsesubtitle gestures toward a wide-scale catastrophe, hinting at a blight that’s more widespread than what’s been seen in previous entries. This could explain theconflictingResident Evil9rumors, specifically those pertaining to its setting and protagonist, as the game could cast a broader net and encapsulate both North America and Southeast Asia, with different legacy characters leading their own adventures in these disparate locales.
