Thanks to Capcom's Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, players see the more global implications of Resident Evil's signature zombie viruses. Zombies have started to pop up in various parts of the world as more entities seem to show interest in bio-organic weapons. It's now up to the franchise's previous protagonists to put an end to these schemes.
Prior to Resident Evil 7, RE5 and RE6 highlighted the franchise's climactic action-packed finish. In turn, current sequels and upcoming Resident Evil 8 sparked interest as to just how they fit within the current timeline. However, fans interested in tying up the whole franchise's plot might take note of events that happened between its games — it seems certain key events may have unfolded between RE5 and RE6.
10 The C-Virus Project
Sometime after the closure of Umbrella Corporation, various entities have sprung up to take the lead on bioweapons research. However, some entities have been existing in secrecy, such as the influential fraternity known as The Family. Existing even before the American Revolutionary War, the Simmons have grown their power over the years and have eventually taken up an interest in bioweapons research. Under the leadership of Derek Simmons, The Family believed it is their responsibility to uphold bioweaponry as warfare's future.
However, this also sprung up the development of the C-Virus. Thanks to Dr. Carla Radames, a senior researcher employed by The Family, they managed to synthesize a virus more potent than the T-Virus, the T-Veronica Virus, and even the G-Virus. However, tests would have to be carried out to ascertain its potency.
9 Project Ada
Apparently, Simmons' obsession with Ada and her rejection prompted him to attempt to make a "perfect" copy of her. Unfortunately, experimentations have led to the creation of monstrous BOWs instead of a functioning clone. It took Simmons 12,235 attempts to successfully "create" his own Ada, using Carla Radames' body in the process. In 2009, Carla becomes a "reborn" Ada, complete with her looks and a mind free for molding.
However, Carla's inner conscience would soon plague her "new self" and slowly encourage her to make plans to ruin Simmons' grand vision. In turn, Carla slowly exerted more control over The Family's assets to launch Neo Umbrella. Unlike its predecessor, Neo Umbrella aims to destroy the world and seat Carla as its new queen.
8 Philosophy University Incident
In Japan, Biohazard The Stage revolved around an incident in Western Australia's Philosophy University in 2010. The journey of Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans's BSAA team led them to Resident Evil 0's Rebecca Chambers, a STARS medic-turned-teacher for the academy. Unlike other outbreaks, tensions rise in the academy as school officials don't want anything about the outbreak leaking to the public. Meanwhile, the personal relationships of students have also affected the overall operation.
Of particular note is Mary Gray, an exceptionally gifted student. It's soon revealed that Mary's father, a former Umbrella Corporation researcher, injected her with the T-Virus in the hopes of curing her blood disease. Unfortunately, Mary ends up becoming the final adversary of the BSAA team.
7 Sejm Island Incident
Players of Revelations 2 will find themselves curious as to why Claire, still a TerraSave member, and her new partner Moira Burton were abducted and sent to the Baltic Sejm Island in 2011. Together with the young Natalia Korda, the three soon discover the identity of the person who brought them there: Alex Wesker, Albert Wesker's "sister" in Umbrella's eugenics program. Moreover, it seems Alex made a deal with Neil Fisher, a member of the defunct Federal Bioterrorism Commission, to provide her with various abductees for experiments.
Unfortunately, an incident would separate the protagonists for six months. Former STARS member Barry Burton headed to the island to find his daughter Moira. In his journey, he finds Natalia awakened from cryogenic sleep. Barry eventually ends up facing Alex, with Claire and Moira arriving just in time to help. The three defeat Alex, and Natalia gets adopted into the Burton family.
6 Little Miss
Interestingly, Revelations 2 expands on Natalia's cryogenic sleep with the "Little Miss" extra episode. This chapter elaborates on the timeframe just before Barry finds Natalia on the island. As it turns out, Natalia wakes up in a dream where she has to find her teddy bear Lottie on the island. However, Natalia has to do it without being spotted by the enemy.
Additionally, players might find it noteworthy to see Natalia be accompanied by Dark Natalia. Unlike the normal Natalia, Dark Natalia has blonde hair and a more lavish black outfit. The game reveals that Dark Natalia serves as the manifestation of Alex Wesker's consciousness. As it turns out, Alex intended for young Natalia to be her mind's new host. In turn, this fact explains why Natalia got abducted alongside Claire and Moira.
5 Return Of Las Plagas
Prior to Resident Evil: Damnation, Capcom released a short film (stylized as a presentation) to highlight an integral part of the film's plot. As revealed in Las Plagas: Organisms of War, the Las Plagas from RE4 makes a return as a terrorist bioweapon. Moreover, Lickers will pose a significant threat to the upcoming film.
In the presentation, Gibson explains the origins of the Plagas as an ancient parasite. However, one Mikhail Zilka created a strain specifically for the Eastern Slav Republic President to use. Gibson also explained the existence of the Dominant-strain Plaga, capable of controlling normal Plaga-infected creatures and even Lickers.
4 East Slavic Civil War
Leon Kennedy continues his adventures as a government agent in the Damnation film. In 2011, Leon investigates a rebellion in the Eastern Slav Republic for potential bioterrorism. In the story, the Republic found itself thrust into a civil war. However, Leon soon finds out that Plaga parasites and BOWs have been used in the conflict.
Interestingly, intel from the mysterious agent Ada Wong confirms that the Republic's President has orchestrated the terrorist attacks to gain more power. Moreover, President Svetlana Belikova planned on killing the rebels to hide witnesses. Thankfully, an eventual truce and joint intervention by Russia and the United States forced Svetlana to resign.
3 Marhawa Desire
It appears that schools become an ideal candidate to test bioweapons in Resident Evil lore. In 2012, the isolated Marhawa School in Southeast Asia became the next site of a bioterrorist attack. It appears a mysterious woman has handed a bullied student a sample of a virus, which the student used to exact vengeance on bullies. Unfortunately, this caused a zombie outbreak.
Thankfully, a BSAA team led by Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans managed to contain the incident, albeit not knowing who started it. As it turns out, Neo Umbrella's C-Virus became the viral agent responsible for the outbreak. Moreover, the mysterious woman turned out to be Dr. Carla Radames, a doppelganger of Ada Wong, who gave the student the C-Virus samples as part of her tests.
2 The Umbrella Corps
Despite the lack of a single-player story, players can try to piece together events that happened in the background of Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps. In this multiplayer game, players become 3A-7, a mercenary under the employment of Umbrella Corps. Unlike the Corporation, Umbrella Corps serves as an anti-BOW paramilitary group that used the inability of BSAA to contain all bioweapon threats as grounds for their experiments.
In the game, 3A-7 had undergone various trials and experiments that toured them to various locations in the previous games. However, the last trial involved an attempt to kill 3A-7, which failed. 3A-7's whereabouts are now currently unknown.
1 Revealing Raccoon City
When President Adam Benford got reelected in the 2012 Presidential Elections, it seems he had plans to finally reveal the truth behind Raccoon City to the public. This was the earliest known time that The Family had planned to assassinate the president. Moreover, The Family planned to unleash the C-Virus in Tall Oaks as a bioterrorism attack.
Meanwhile, Carla Radames sold the virus to rebels in Edonia. Interestingly, this transaction will actually help The Family determine whether Jake Muller, Albert Wesker's son, has antibodies against the C-Virus. Moreover, should Jake prove immune, The Family plans to capture him to avoid the creation of a vaccine. These events directly lead to Resident Evil 6.