A Capcom employee officially confirms that the opening level of Resident Evil 5 and its infected villagers will appear in spin-off game Umbrella Corps.

While Resident Evil 7 and the Resident Evil 2 remake haven't received any development updates lately, the multiplayer series spin-off Umbrella Corps is well on its way. In the upcoming game's latest update, Capcom employee Neil Gortz revealed that the game will feature at least one map from Resident Evil 5.

While a sneak peek of the locale was briefly visible in the single-player Horde Mode trailer released two weeks ago, this is the first official confirmation of Resident Evil 5's presence in Umbrella Corps. The Kijuju town where Sheva and Chris first began their partnership in Resident Evil 5 will be a playable map in Umbrella Corps. Just like in Resident Evil 5's versus mode, teams of players will face off against each other while simultaneously holding off enemy villagers infected with the Plagas virus.

While the single-player Horde Mode trailer for Umbrella Corps showed players brushing off zombie attacks, it remains to be seen if the infected Majini villagers will be more of a threat. Resident Evil 5's enemies were fairly aware, aggressive, and moved quickly, meaning that players may find it challenging to balance combating enemy A.I. and enemy players. In addition, it's possible that the iconic Executioner boss that originally appeared in Kijuju may make an appearance. Considering that the Executioner could easily take out large groups at once in Resident Evil 5, it's entirely possible that enemy teams may find themselves temporarily teaming up to take down the menace.

Another question that remains unanswered is whether the zombie jammer gadget will have any effect on the Majini. While this gameplay mechanic may turn out to work on all forms of infected A.I., Resident Evil fans will surely be quick to point out that the Plagas infected enemies from Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 aren't actually zombies.

Umbrella Corps bears almost no resemblance to traditional Resident Evil games, but it's ultimately just intended to be a fun spin-off title. Recycling maps from prior Resident Evil games is a savvy business decision on Capcom's part, since it not only saves them development cost and time, but it also taps into gamers' nostalgia for the prior titles. Considering that the main series has been meandering farther and farther away from its survival horror roots but still enjoying sales success, chances are many gamers will be able to find Umbrella Corps enjoyable.

Umbrella Corps is set to release in May of 2016 for PC and PS4.

Source: Capcom Unity