11 mainline entries1996 — today
Resident Evil
The mansion that invented survival horror — and kept escaping it.
The story of the series
In 1996 a haunted mansion on the outskirts of Raccoon City taught players to count bullets, dodge zombies, and read a map inked in crimson. Resident Evil named a genre — survival horror — and then spent thirty years refusing to stay inside it. The series has cycled through fixed-camera dread, action-movie excess, first-person reinvention, and back again, each pivot a response to what came before. Through it all runs the Umbrella Corporation, the T-virus, and a rotating cast of STARS officers who keep coming home to a house that wants them dead.
Every release
The release timeline
From the first cartridge to the latest entry — every mainline game in the Resident Evil series, in the order it reached players.
- 1996 · PlayStation
Resident Evil
The mansion. Fixed cameras, limited ink ribbons, and a map that taught you to fear every door. Survival horror is born.
- 1998 · PlayStation
Resident Evil 2
Raccoon City falls. Two interleaved campaigns, a police station, and the zombie disaster movie the series always wanted.
- 1999 · PlayStation
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
A relentless pursuer stalks you through the outbreak. The dodge and the live-selection keep the chase tense.
- 2000 · Dreamcast / PS2
Resident Evil – Code: Veronica
The true sequel in spirit — dual protagonists, a creepy family, and the series’ first fully 3D environments.
- 2005 · GameCube
Resident Evil 4
The reinvention. Over-the-shoulder aiming, a European village, and action-paced horror that reshaped the entire industry.
- 2009 · PS3 / 360
Resident Evil 5
Co-op in Africa. The action dial turned up further — blockbuster, sunny, and divisive among horror purists.
- 2012 · PS3 / 360
Resident Evil 6
Four campaigns, global scale, and full action-movie excess. The series at its most sprawling and least scary.
- 2017 · PS4 / Xbox One / PC
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
First-person, in a rotting Louisiana house. A terrifying reset that put horror back at the center.
- 2019 · PS4 / Xbox One / PC
Resident Evil 2 Remake
The classic rebuilt in RE4’s over-the-shoulder style. Mr. X, now relentless, turns the police station into a panic.
- 2021 · PS5 / Xbox Series / PC
Resident Evil Village
A gothic village, a towering Lady Dimitrescu, and first-person horror stretched to fairy-tale scale.
- 2023 · PS5 / Xbox Series / PC
Resident Evil 4 Remake
The landmark original reimagined — tighter, scarier, and more fluid. The remake program reaches its masterpiece.
How it changed
What changed across releases
The Resident Evil series never stood still. Here is how it reinvented itself, era by era.
The fixed-camera dread (1996–2000)
The first four games defined survival horror with pre-rendered rooms, scarce ammo, and puzzles — tension built from what you couldn’t see.
The action reinvention (2005–2012)
Resident Evil 4 invented the over-the-shoulder shooter-horror hybrid and reshaped the industry; 5 and 6 chased that success into full co-op action, leaving scares behind.
The first-person horror reset (2017–2021)
After the action excess, RE7 and Village retreated to a single house, then a village, in terrifying first-person — horror first, spectacle second.
The remake era (2019–today)
Capcom began rebuilding its classics in the modern engine, fusing the original level design with RE4-style combat — preserving the series’ history while modernizing its feel.
