Resi 5 to feature online co-op

By Ellie Gibson Published 23 May, 2008

Will be out by April next year.

It's been revealed that Resident Evil 5 will feature an online co-op mode so you can play the entire game with a friend by your side. Some storyline details have been leaked too - you might not want to read on if you don't want to know.

The news came in a Games Radar feature which has mysteriously disappeared from the Internet since it was published. But the Internet has a good memory, and can recall the article said Chris Redfield will be joined on his adventures by a lady mercenary. A second player will be able to drop-in and play as her at any time, and when you're going it alone she'll be AI-controlled.

The article also said the Mercenaries mini-game from Resi 4 is making a comeback. New features will include a cover system that lets you press yourself against walls and shoot round corners. Plus you'll be able to duck down and dodge bullets using the right analogue stick. Still no strafing.

Here comes the spoily bit: Resi 5 is set in a small African country with no name. It's located near a range of active volcanoes that runs through Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya, and is the source of the virus. Returning characters will include Sherry Birkin and Albert Wesker, and parts of the story will be revealed through playable flashbacks.

According to the article, the game will be out in 2009. Capcom's financial report confirms the game will be released during financial year 2008. So, Watson, it follows that Resident Evil 5 will be released at some point between January 1st and March 31st next year.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (49) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Gradius #1 4 years ago

    YES! Awesome!

  • Kami #2 4 years ago

    Can't. Wait.

  • MasterNameless #3 4 years ago

    Great news. 2009 is too friggin long to wait though >_<

  • Wash #4 4 years ago

    Thats pretty awesome. Hopefully they can do it right.

  • AcidSnake #5 4 years ago

    I was right when I predicted the return of sherry!

    I'm not sure about the second character following you around with AI...
    Part of Resi's creepiness came from being alone...Also if the AI isn't smart enough it'll end in front of my guns...

  • mcmonkeyplc #6 4 years ago

    /Cum

  • groovychainsaw #7 4 years ago

    will it have split screen co-op though? I could imagine my gf playing this alongside me if it was... ;-)

  • J.C #8 4 years ago

    Best news of the day.

  • The-Bodybuilder #9 4 years ago

    >"New features will include a cover system that lets you press yourself against walls and shoot round corners"

    Will mario be including this in his next outing too?
    Online co-op, count me in.

  • konstantinos #10 4 years ago

    come on, e-n-o-u-g-h with the strafing, already...! it would go against the "naturalistic" mechanics of the game... this isn't MDK... yes, I know the movement is restricted but frantically moving sideways is definitely not something that would "fix" the tempo of RE's gameplay...

    in any case, this is going to be great... nothing out there (console-wise, anyway) has managed to equal RE in its niche...

    on other news, Bioshock is coming (yeah, I am "retro" like that & a "sad PS3" owner)...!!! yes, yes, yes...!!!

    cheers...
    Edited by 1 at 23/05/08 @ 11:58

  • Ace_McCloud #11 4 years ago

    "/Cum"


    ">"New features will include a cover system that lets you press yourself against walls and shoot round corners"

    Will mario be including this in his next outing too?
    Online co-op, count me in."

    Deserved LOLs to both of your posts. Well done! ... and I agree.

  • zuljin #12 4 years ago

    OMG! The awesomeness of this news could only be exceeded by four player coop Dead Rising 2.

  • Triggerhappytel #13 4 years ago

    Awesome news, although I'd like split-screen too. I bet we don't get it until about next June :(

    An early contender for Best Game of 2009, so long as they don't go all Devil May Cry 2 on us.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #14 4 years ago

    Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT!! ^________^

  • MasterNameless #15 4 years ago

    "OMG! The awesomeness of this news could only be exceeded by four player coop Dead Rising 2."

    Just the thought of that makes me giddy!

  • Quint2020 #16 4 years ago

    Let me guess no local though right?

    God damn it.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #17 4 years ago

    This and Left 4 Dead will satisfy my zombie-fighting lust for months to come :o)

  • DFawkes #18 4 years ago

    This is the best new ever known to man ever. Better than the invention of the wheel, better than prodding a spoon through the foil seal on new coffee, or the smell of freshly fried donuts (prefer the US spelling there).

  • consignia #19 4 years ago

    Cover systems are this years quick time events.

  • syphaa #20 4 years ago

    Holy mother of all things awesomely CO-OP!
    Think I have just jizzed in my panties.

    This is gonna rock even harder with two players...imagine how good it is going to be sharing the scaryness over comms...amazing. Great move Capcom! Amazing in fact...I think this has to be one of the most shocking/fantastic news stories of the month if not year!

  • Xerx3s #21 4 years ago

    Bliss \0/

  • Nithron #22 4 years ago

    This is awesome. However, it'd better bloody well not get removed, like co-op did for Viewtiful Joe 2.

  • muscleblade #23 4 years ago

    This will be GOTY next year. I have predicted a february 2009 release for this for a year. Coop incuded is very surprising and good news.

  • daz_john_smith #24 4 years ago

    "Online co-op"

    Awesome, but I hope that will include system-link if there's no splitscreen option.

  • Paukl #25 4 years ago

    Aww, I was really hoping this would make it for the November crush this year, the trailer was one of the main reaons I bought me xbox!

  • muscleblade #26 4 years ago

    "Apparently the game's ready now but they need a year to stop it running like pigshit on the PS3"

    It probably still gonne be lackluster on the PS3. On the other hand DMC4 was pretty good on the PS3 compared to 360 from what i remember. So there is hope.

  • ParanoidZombie #27 4 years ago

    I also want to be able to shoot AND move simultaneously. And change weapons+ heal without having to open my inventory. I think that later wish has a good chance to be fulfilled: I can't imagine a coop mode where the action pauses every other second because one player has to switch between weapons.

    ... On the other hand, I think scary games should be played alone, and in the dark. Hopefully Left4Dead will open my mind.

  • afghan_jones #28 4 years ago

    ohmygawrshthatsfuckingSWEEEEEEET!!

    Hey deadhead, take a bite of peach. Ka-BOOOM!

  • FenderMaster #29 4 years ago

    ....just...awesome...

  • Feanor #30 4 years ago

    "The article also said the Mercenaries mini-game from Resi 4 is making a comeback."

    ! Fantastic news.

  • Bulbatron #31 4 years ago

    I too, was right when I predicted the return of Sherry Birkin!

    Split-screen would be great, but I bet it won't happen. Still looking forwards to this though.

  • arcanis22 #32 4 years ago

    @ Consignia:
    "Cover systems are this years quick time events."

    Sorry But I have to disagree with you there. While the similarities are obvious, theres one big difference. Quick time events were a boring, lazy, waste of time. Cover systems are actually useful and in my opinion can really make a game more fun.

  • Razorus #33 4 years ago

    This is great news indeed! Can't wait to head-shot more zombies. Co-op sounds good but I'm not too fond of the AI controlled idea. This game will get a +1 if they bring back The Merchant. You know what I'm saying guys, let's all go, after 3.....

    WHAT ARE YOU BUYING?!

  • Waffleaber #34 4 years ago

    Resident evil must be one of the most inconsistant series in existence, for every Code: Veronica there's a Nemesis.

    I also have high hopes for this after the excellence of four but I don't want to build it up too much like I did with zero.

  • gonzaxpain #35 4 years ago

    on lline for Resident Evil? craaaaaaaaaaaap, this has always been a one player thing, it doesnīt need on line, let alone co-op. It sounds really bad to me, i still canīt wait to play it but I think i will miss the good old days when you have to explore places on your own.

  • DFawkes #36 4 years ago

    @gonzaxpain

    Just play offline! Although I do get where you're coming from - there may be design changes that don't benefit the single-player experience. I hope not, but did love Obscure, which showed how a co-op survival horror experience could work well. granted, RE4 isn't really a horror game anymore, but it is very good.

  • Fayt #37 4 years ago

    I don't mind the inclusion of this, but I do hope they haven't focussed too much on it in favour of the single player. It would also be nice if they cut out the repetitive sections that the fourth game at times suffered from and of which was one of few real faults, along with the fact that - with few real jumps and no zombies - it just didn't feel like a Resident Evil game.

  • FooAtari #38 4 years ago

    Way to much "me too" in games. Seems co-op is the new stealth.

    Hey developers, not every game needs to have the latest new fad. Ti's what makes them all feel the same.

    Even though I'm not really a fan of the game, it's survival horror and supposed to be tense or whatever. That will get lost as soon as you bring another player into it.

  • Foregone Reality #39 4 years ago

    Why am I not surprised ? @ Co-Op.

    Resident Evil's no longer Survival Horror and hasn't been since RE4. It's only natural for all action games to have Co-Op.

    I know the controls are shoddy..but nothing beats the experience/story/horror of the first three games.

    I actually miss the well drawn/animated backrounds from those games, too. Really felt like you were in a world..

  • RandomTerrain #40 4 years ago

    I absolutely love co-op in games... but in Resident Evil? Can that work?
    Well, it better have a split screen option anyway. Good stuff.

  • kangarootoo #41 4 years ago

    @Crofto

    "Why do developers feel like they have to listen to those people always yelling for teamslayer when it's fu*king not needed."

    1. Because "those people" are their customers.
    2. Who said anything about teamslayer?

    Cheer up dude ffs. If you don't want to play coop, don't. There we go problem solved, you can thank me later.

    Coop kicks ass and is a welcome addition to almost any game. Playing with your friends is not a fad. I rememnber a time when single player only games were very much in the minority.

  • Wayne #42 4 years ago

    Gears Of Evil FTW!!!

  • RazorObsession #43 4 years ago

    I love zombie movies, zombie games, zombie porn etc. and everything is better when shared with a friend, so this is on pre order regardless, but what I really want from this outing is the ability to map controls how I want them. I mean left stick for movement, right stick for vision. trigger should make bullets come out of a gun, not spin me around or some crap, and so on and so forth.

    I can sort of understand the awkward controls create pressure and tension, and when facing slow lumbering zombies in confined environments it really makes you panic and feel as though you could get bitten at any moment, but now we are facing hordes of running axe wielding zombies in the roomy plains of Africa, so perhaps they don't need to artificially raise the tension with naff controls anymore.

    Capcom have a habit of forcing you to relearn how to walk by making the controls as weird and frustrating as possible for someone who is deeply entrenched in CoD4 or GTA, which is backward thinking compared to the industry standards that we tend to keep to in the west, and it would be nice to at least have the option. I'm not saying add strafing or any extra feature sets, keep them the same, but just let me decide how I use those features. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here.

    Just thought of a P.S. as far as the co-op goes, I feel they may well have the players split up for most of the time, as all Resi games usually feature a story told from two heroes perspectives, who only occasionally meet up. plus it means being able to get twice as much mileage from the game, in single player and playing cooperatively. which means 4x the mileage if my maths isn't off. If they choose the army of two back to back style of co-op, then I can understand peoples hesitance.
    Edited by 1 at 24/05/08 @ 02:34

  • ChrisOTR #44 4 years ago

    Exactly what 'The Bodybuilder' said. Both bits.

  • vegard #45 4 years ago

    i have RE4 on the Wii, never saw this mercenaries mini-game...unlockable? never bothered to finish the game. anyone care to enlighten me?

  • rogueJT #46 4 years ago


    Gears of Evil.

    The AI is gonna suck.

  • GiarcYekrub #47 4 years ago

    "i have RE4 on the Wii, never saw this mercenaries mini-game...unlockable? never bothered to finish the game. anyone care to enlighten me?"

    Complete it and Mercenaries is unlocked :
    Four Characters Ada,Leon,Hunk,Wesker in four locations with differing weapons have to survive for a long as you can earning extra time for opening chests and killing things, it's bloody hard, In RE3 you had to rescue civilians in Raccoon city, In the GC/(DuelShock) RE2 there was some sort of killathon similar and RE0 you had to collect Green Blue leaches
    Edited by 1 at 26/05/08 @ 16:55

  • actionfitz #48 4 years ago

    double teaming Resi?

    /happy
    /happy
    /joy
    /joy

  • VMerken #49 4 years ago

    Problems with the controls, dear video gamer? Practise makes perfect.
    Online co-op? Awesome if done right, but I'd prefer more focus on a solid single player experience.
    Mercenaries minigame? Nice, but I was kind of hoping for something new - this should be RE5, not RE4 HD Edition.
    Edited by 2 at 27/05/08 @ 18:15