Resident Evil 7 Biohazard dramatically alterred the fate of the longrunning horror franchise, giving it new life and a resurgence in popularity. The game is so popular, in fact, Capcom has announced Resident Evil 7 Biohazard has broken the franchise's sales record.

Before Resident Evil 7 released in 2017, the series was a shell of its former self. Despite Resident Evil 4's massive influence on the gaming industry, particularly with its innovative third-person shooting mechanics, it set the Resident Evil franchise on a path that never set well with fans. Resident Evil 5 and especially Resident Evil 6, prioritized action and thrills over terror and chills, becoming closer to action-adventure games, than the methodical, survival horror games the series started as. With a little time though, and going back to the drawing board, Capcom gave fans one of last generation's greatest horror games in Resident Evil 7, taking the series in a bold, new first-person direction.

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Capcom announced on Twitter that Resident Evil 7 has broken a major sales milestone for the series. In the tweet, Capcom posted an image of Resident Evil 7's Baker family with the caption, "Thanks to your continuous support, Resident Evil 7 has now surpassed 10 million units sold!" It goes on to thank the Resident Evil community once more, stating, "We could not have reached this goal without our awesome fans!" Resident Evil 7 became the series' best-selling game in 2020 which at the time had sold 7.9 million units, with projections getting the game to today's 10 million mark.

Practically all of the numbered Resident Evil games have sold well in the past, but none have sold like Resident Evil 7. According to the sales data given by Capcom itself, Resident Evil 7 is the series' first game to break the 10 million unit sales mark, with the second closest being the incredible Resident Evil 2 Remake. Consistently Resident Evil is one of Capcom's highest selling franchise with the only game selling more than Resident Evil 7 being Monster Hunter: World with over 17 million units sold as of June 2021. Resident Evil 7 has benefitted from multiple releases since its launch as well, coming to the Luna and Stadia over the past year, and being a part of the PS5 PS Plus collection.

Of any Resident Evil title to hit this milestone, Resident Evil 7 is the perfect game to have done so. It signaled a return to form for the franchise, that balanced its tight FPS gameplay with genuine scares and a compelling setting. Furthermore, it set up one of the series' best characters in Ethan Winters, who's story from that game is continued in Resident Evil Village is also one of the series' best. Maybe in another 10 years, fans will get a remake of Resident Evil 7 like 2 and 3 received, though it definitely does need one.

Resident Evil 7 is available on Luna, PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.

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Source: Capcom