The Resident Evil franchise has been responsible for key titles in the survival horror genre for many years and many still cite its early releases as helping to define the genre. Naturally with an impressive reputation, many have been excited about the upcoming Resident Evil 8 but the existing franchise has now hit an impressive milestone that is a testament to the commercial success of the series.
In recent years the Resident Evil games have seen renewed success largely because of the critically acclaimed remake of Resident Evil 2 but also because of a consistent output albeit with varying quality. It seems that this steady flow of games has paid off for the publisher and developer, Capcom, as the Resident Evil franchise has now sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Behind this incredible achievement are some interesting statistics about how Capcom have managed to reach this point.
In a press release, Capcom revealed that over 80% of the Resident Evil games distributed were sold outside of the publisher’s native Japan. The series is also the most successful that Capcom has produced because of this recent milestone. The press release attributes this achievement, in part, to the recent sales of both the Resident Evil 2 remake and its sequel which came out this year. With the millions of units that both titles sold it is unsurprising that they managed to make a significant impact on the 100 million units sold. With that said the most commercially successful Resident Evil game is still Resident Evil 5 despite some competition from Resident Evil 7.
On the back of this triumph fans of the series and the publisher will hope that the success of the franchise can be replicated yet again with Resident Evil 8. The title was rumored to be in development for a considerable amount of time before Resident Evil 8 was showcased at the PlayStation 5 event. At the moment the reaction has been positive to the latest addition in the series and it will be interesting to see if it can deliver on an exciting trailer as well as fan expectation.
Capcom will undoubtedly be proud of an outstanding achievement and the future looks bright for the company with plenty of anticipation surrounding Resident Evil 8. While many will debate which is the best title in Resident Evil series it seems that each addition to the series has managed to appeal to an audience. With that in mind, players will look forward to more games that feed of the legacy of previous titles while applying new elements.
Source: Capcom
