During the first couple of years of the PS4 and Xbox One life cycle, it looked like the glory days of Capcom were long gone and the legendary developer's future bleak. Despite consistent sales numbers, games like Street Fighter V, Dead Rising 4, and Resident Evil 6 all failed to capture the magic that made each franchise so beloved in the first place, tarnishing its reputation with both fans and critics. Fast forward to 2020 and Capcom has come back with full force, releasing hit after hit from Resident Evil 7 to Devil May Cry 5Resident Evil 2 Remake, and its best selling game of all time, Monster Hunter World.

A huge part of that success came down to the soft reboot of the Resident Evil franchise, releasing the first-person survival-horror which was revitalized with a first-person Resident Evil 7 and succeeded by the critically-acclaimed remake of Resident Evil 2. With the remake of Resident Evil 3 right around the corner, rumors have started popping up online offering a glimpse into what players can expect from the next game in the series. If the recent Resident Evil 8 rumors are to be believed, it looks like both Chris Redfield and the mysterious Blue Umbrella corporation will be coming back, suggesting that one big mystery from the ending of RE7 might finally be resolved.

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Resident Evil 8 Rumors

Rumors for Resident Evil 8 first cropped up online at the end of January via Biohazard Declassified and was later corroborated by various sources including Eurogamer, ResidenceOfEvil, and Nibellion. According to these rumors, Resident Evil 8 will be a direct follow up to RE7 with Ethan expected to return as the game's primary protagonist and will feature the return of the first-person perspective instead of the over-the-shoulder perspective from the both the RE2 and RE3 remakes.

When it comes to the game's setting, Resident Evil 8 is said to start off in a village location before moving to an old medieval-style Castle with multiple types of environments including rural, snow and mountains. It's expected that zombies will be returning as an enemy type instead of the Molded monsters from Resident Evil 7, and the game will also feature new types of enemies such as a "persistent shadowy female" enemy that stalks the player similar to Lisa from P.T. and "wolf-like" creatures. Lastly, long-time series protagonist Chris Redfield will be returning, although it's unknown to what extent he will be featured in the game.

Resident Evil 7's Big Mystery

First appearing in the original Resident Evil, Chris Redfield is intrinsically tied to the RE franchise and has appeared as a playable character in a number of mainline games including Resident Evil, Resident Evil 5, and Resident Evil 6. Known for his affiliations with S.T.AR.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) and the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) when we last saw Chris Redfield, he appeared as a surprise character in the final cutscene for Resident Evil 7. Chris had been recruited for a mission to apprehend Lucas Baker and appeared in a military rescue helicopter branded with a logo a mysterious company called the Blue Umbrella Corporation.

Blue Umbrella was formed in 2007 as a private company tasked with aiding in anti-B.O.W. warfare following catastrophic events that occurred as a result of the [Red] Umbrella Corporation, essentially referring to every Resident Evil games Blue Umbrella operated by hiring soldiers such as BSAA operators like Chris Redfield and sending them out to deal with B.O.W. related threats to the USA. The only known operation is the Dulvey Incident which was explored in the story DLC for Resident Evil 7 where Chris Redfield is hired to apprehend Lucas Baker in the 'Not A Hero' DLC and eventually Jack Baker in the 'End of Zoe' DLC. Other than that, Blue Umbrella remains a big mystery.

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Could Resident Evil 8 Explore Blue Umbrella?

The Blue Umbrella corporation was built by restructuring the original Red Umbrella Corporation and repurposing it, a company that caused all of the catastrophic events that players have faced throughout the Resident Evil franchise. Having Chris Redfield appear at the end of Resident Evil 7 was a huge surprise for many players, and it led to speculation as to what the character had been up to in the years following Resident Evil 6. That's already a lot of unanswered questions before factoring in who is the Blue Umbrella Corporation, what are its motives, and most importantly, why did Chris Redfield accept its mission knowing he can't and probably shouldn't trust them?

If Resident Evil 8 is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7 with both Ethan and Chris Redfield returning, then it's safe to say that the Blue Umbrella Corporation is going to be involved in one way or another. It's also very interesting that zombies will be returning in Resident Evil 8, alongside new enemies like Werewolves, as neither of these enemy types were around in the last game and theoretically shouldn't be as the Red Umbrella Corporation no longer exists. RE7 laid out a big new mystery right as the series had its first real soft reboot and with so many questions left unanswered, the recent RE8 rumors are teasing a potential resolution.

Resident Evil 8 is rumored to be in development for unannounced platforms.

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