Resident Evil, the storied survival horror series published by Capcom is 20 years old. The first game was released on March 22, 1996 and the franchise has now sold more than 66 million games across the globe.

To celebrate Resident Evil’s 20th birthday, Capcom is planning lots of new content for the entire year. Some of this will come in the form of developer diaries looking back at the creation of the first game and all of the games that followed. The company also said it’s planning a few surprises to help celebrate this milestone as well.

“Capcom would also like to take this opportunity to thank our media partners, gamers and the fans that have shown their passion and support for the Resident Evil titles over the last 20 years. There’s no doubt that the continued success of the series is all because of you,” reads the official release.

The original Resident Evil was one of the games that ushered in the horror genre of video games. Its script was something fans will always remember, even if it wasn’t written particularly well. One quote in particular has become part of cult reference within the gaming community. “Jill, here’s a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, ‘the master of unlocking,’ take it with you.”


This article was written by

Nicole has been playing games her entire life. Now that she's a mom, she's passionate about promoting games as a healthy pastime to other parents around the globe. She has been an editor at IGN, where she launched and hosted the Girlfight podcast. In her spare time (which is not very much, honestly) she enjoys gaming, reading, and writing fiction. Most of the time she’s a mom to a crazy, intelligent, and exhausting little girl.