Resident Evil Switches Genres With Survival Unit
The Resident Evil franchise has long been synonymous with survival horror, but now it’s stepping into the world of strategy with Survival Unit. It’s a mobile game currently in development, but is set for a full release before the end of 2025.
Shinji Hasimoto, Resident Evil Survival Unit’s Executive Producer, introduced the game in a Youtube video posted on July 10. He outlined his involvement, and what players could expect from this new entry into the series – as well as his reasoning for making it a strategy title.
“I like this so-called ‘pandemic horror’ and have long since admired the world of Resident Evil. Also, we felt that the game’s unique ‘survival element’ of surviving with only limited resources fits very well with strategy games.”
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Resident Evil on Mobile
Hasimoto somewhat disingenuously calls Survival Unit the first full Resident Evil game on mobile, which is only true if gamers are willing to ignore the previous ports of existing games. Resident Evil has historically not performed well on mobile, with Resident Evil 3 reported to have only sold around 115,000 copies on iOS since March 2025.
Survival Unit may do better as it’s coming to iOS and Android. It also runs parallel to the storylines of Resident Evil 2 and 3, with the game’s male protagonist waking up in a hospital after being experimented on by Umbrella. Players can control him in third person as he explores the hospital, finds clues, and scavenges for items.
Battles are in real-time and echo those found in games like State of Survival; this type of strategy game looks to be a core touchstone regarding Survival Unit, as the new Resident Evil title also includes a base/settlement that can be upgraded, as can characters the player can collect.
These include series favorites like Barry Burton and Claire Redfield, and with Resident Evil 4’s iconic merchant also appearing, it’s apparent this is what the game’s Producer, Kye Dongkyun, calls a “parallel world” that honors the series history. Going by gameplay footage shown in the recent reveal video, it’s a safe bet to say there will be a gacha element to Survival Unit, too, what with characters having ranks (Legendary, Epic, etc), and skills that can be upgraded.
Familiar monsters from the franchise will also make an appearance, alongside a brand new enemy called Mortem designed by legendary Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano (Vampire Hunter D, the surreal Angel’s Egg). “I felt that working on a Resident Evil game would be an exciting challenge,” he said, “because I have a deep appreciation for all things scary.”
The Other Names Behind Survival Unit
Amano joins the game as an individual artist rather than as part of a company, but he partly agreed due to having known Shinji Hasimoto for a number of years. Hasimoto is the Executive Producer at Aniplex, a game publisher (The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Sweep the Board).
While Capcom is overseeing Survival Unit, the actual dev team is JOYCITY, a Korean studio behind multiple mobile games, such as Gunship Battle, FreeStyle, and the forthcoming Disney Realm Breakers. The devs have opened pre-registration for Survival Unit via the game’s official site, with the promise of more news to come
