The Resident Evil Village release date was unofficially revealed in November.
Key information about Capcom’s roster of upcoming games was leaked after the publisher fell victim to a ransomware attack on November 2 that compromised the personal information of as many as 350,000 people associated with Capcom, like employees, customers, and shareholders.
The company acknowledged the security breach on November 16 in a press release but it didn’t mention any of the disclosed launch dates and unannounced games that were brought to light because of the attack, which included details on Resident Evil Village.
The last fleeting glimpse of the upcoming horror games fans received came during the Tokyo Game Show on September 23 with the release of a new trailer that included developers’ comments as well as snippets of gameplay.
Capcom had been eleasing a steady stream of teasers since it revealed the eighth installment of the horror-survival franchises during Sony’s June 11 PlayStation 5 reveal. But the November 2020 ransomware attack has seemingly thrown a wrench in the company's plans for a grand release date unveiling.
After all, Resident Evil Village will continue the franchise’s current storyline after more than a three-year hiatus. Since 2017, Capcom has stopped churning out new RE content to release two remakes for RE 2 and RE3 which were well-received by long-time fans of the series and newcomers alike.
Now, Resident Evil Village will bring back the series’ newfound first-person gameplay with a new title that will take inspiration from horror movies like The Exorcist and Blair Witch.
Here’s everything we know about Resident Evil Village.
When is the Resident Evil VIIIage release date?
Resident Evil Village is planned for launch on April 2021, according to a compiled list of leaks stemming from the ransomware attack detailed on RestEra. Before this, Capcom had only specified that the game would launch in 2021. It appears that the company hasn't decided on an exact launch day, but April seems like a solid guess.
When could we hear more about Resident Evil ViIIage?
The list also mentioned that Capcom is planning a demo before release, which means the company could release early access to a portion of the game very soon. In fact, before the ransomware attack, the publisher had even teased its next update but it's unclear if its plans have changed after the security breach.
Back in September, the site for Resident Evil Village was updated to reveal that new details about the game will drop "this winter."
That could have been a joint release window announcement and demo launch ahead of the game's April 2021 release date, which would make perfect sense given that this news could drop anywhere from December to the end of February.
Is there a Resident Evil VIIIage trailer?
Yes, Capcom has released multiple trailers teasing its next installment of Resident Evil. The most recent one was a deep-dive on how Capcom is approaching the world-building and character design in Resident Evil VIIage compared to Resident Evil 7. The company released its latest teaser during the Tokyo Game Show on September 25.
Here's the developer update below:
The second Resident Evil 3 trailer game fans a first look at gameplay, which was released during Sony's September 16 PS5 showcase.
The initial announcement trailer for Resident Evil VIIIage was released during a previous PS5 announcement back in June 11.
This video only included cinematic cutscenes and teased a bit of the plot for the game:
Will Resident Evil Village be on Xbox Series X and PS5?
The recent ransomware leaks also shed some light on what consoles and platforms Resident Evil Village will be launched on. It turns out speculation about it not being an exclusively next-generation title were true.
Capcom has plans to launch its new horror game on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles as well as the next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. To top it off, the RestEra list also mentioned that Google paid Capcom $10 million to bring both RE7 and Resident Evil Village to its game streaming platform Stadia.
The title will also naturally launch on PC so that means all types of gamers will be able to play the title upon release, regardless of what platform they prefer.
How long could the Resident Evil Village campaign be?
While the extend of Resident Evil VIllage's campaign has not been revealed yet, but Resident Evil leaker Dusk Golem claimed to know roughly how long it will be on their Twitter.
"I don't know the exact play time but I've heard pretty reliably out of the RE Engine games it'll be the longest one. Not the absolute longest RE game, I personally suspect it'll be shorter than RE6/RE4, but I've heard it's longer than RE7/RE2/RE3."
RE6 is the longest game in the series, with a 21-hour campaign, while both recent remakes come in at around six to eight hours. So Resident Evil Village will reportedly be somewhere between those two extremes.
What is the Resident Evil Village story?
In a press release following the Sony PS5 reveal event on June 11, Capcom revealed the following information about Resident Evil Village:
In the debut cinematic trailer released today, Capcom revealed a glimpse of the evocative new setting and storyline of Resident Evil Village. Set a few years after the critically acclaimed Resident Evil 7 biohazard, the all-new storyline begins with Ethan and his wife Mia living peacefully in a new location, free from their past nightmares. Just as they are building their new life together, tragedy befalls them once again. Chris Redfield, the legendary hero from the Resident Evil™ series who made a brief appearance in Resident Evil 7 biohazard, is reacquainted with the couple and horribly disrupts their life, leaving Ethan devastated and thrown into an entirely new nightmare.
The first-person action in Resident Evil Village begins when players assume the role of a distraught and shattered Ethan as he seeks to uncover the mysterious new horrors that plague a once peaceful village. Throughout this terrifying journey, players will fight for every breath as they are hunted by vicious new enemies that have infested the snow-capped locale. Channeling the capabilities of next generation consoles, the detailed realism and relentless feeling of fear will increase with each desperate battle for survival, while moments of calm will leave players wondering what new horrors await.
Previously, Dusk Golem had dropped a few tidbits about RE8's alleged “serious departure” from RE7. They said that "hallucinations, occultism, insanity and not being able to trust others are huge thematics of the game" and also noted that RE7 protagonist Ethan Winters would return to fend off “werewolves” in a “snowy village.”
All of that information backed up other details that the RE news site Biohazard Declassified published back in January, which also noted that RE8 would launch with a “clever title.” Now on Monday, Biohazard Declassified published more unconfirmed details that tie into everything we’ve heard about this next chapter.
Here’s a rundown of everything the new site reported:
- Occultism will play a big role in RE8, but there won’t be any magic. Instead there’s a cult that worships the monsters created by the Mold, infectious, fungal superorganism. Players will experience hallucinations due to the Mold being airborne.
- The main villain will be named Alan R., a mysterious Count who lives in a castle and is an esteemed member of “The Connections,” the crime syndicate who created the Mold.
- A lot of the game will be set outdoors and include areas named: The Castles, Caves, Forests, and Village.
- A new playable character named Emily, a woman in her late-20s, will help Ethan on his journey.
- Ethan is abducted from a remote life with his wife Mia and wakes up in the Village. He has to find his way back to his home while investigating the unexplained disappearances in the area.
- Finally, there will be a host of new enemies including zombies, pale humanoids that look like Ganados, dogs, wolves, werewolves, and monsters that resemble Lickers.
While there's a lot of weight to these leaks, it's worth noting that Chris Redfield's role in Resident Evil Village wasn't mentioned.
Finally, based on a translated interview with Resident Evil Village producers Tsuyoshi Kanda and Pete Fabiano from Japanese games magazine Famitsu, the upcoming installment will conclude Ethan's storyline.
Resident Evil Village will be released sometime in 2021.
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