Resident Evil 7: Biohazard[a] is a 2017 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. The player controls Ethan Winters as he searches for his long-missing wife in a derelict plantation occupied by an infected family, solving puzzles and fighting enemies. Resident Evil 7 diverges from the more action-oriented Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, returning to the franchise's survival horror roots, emphasizing exploration. It is the first main Resident Evil game to use a first-person view.
Resident Evil 7 is the first full-length game to use Capcom's in-house RE Engine. The development was led by Koshi Nakanishi, director of Resident Evil: Revelations. A year prior to its announcement at E3 2016, it was presented as a virtual reality demo called Kitchen. The team took inspiration from the 1981 film The Evil Dead, scaled back the game to one location, and used a first-person perspective to immerse players. Two downloadable content scenarios were released, Not a Hero and End of Zoe.
Resident Evil 7 was released in January 2017 for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, followed by a cloud version for the Nintendo Switch in May 2018 in Japan and December 2022 worldwide, and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in June 2022. It also supports the PlayStation VR headset. The game received generally favorable reviews and was considered a return to form for the series; critics praised the visuals, gameplay, story, innovation, and uses of virtual reality, but the boss battles and final chapter drew some criticism. By December 2023, the game had sold 13 million units.[1] It was nominated for several end-of-year accolades. A sequel, Resident Evil Village, was released on May 7, 2021.
