New Resident Evil game hits 1 million pre-regs despite monetization concerns

Resident Evil is a series that has taken more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan movie. From vastly differing quality between entries and shifts in genre, to cancelled games, nobody could accuse the horror icon of standing still. That's why so many players are excited for Resident Evil: Survival Unit, an upcoming game for mobile devices. Over a million players have pre-registered for the game, meaning that they will be notified when the game releases and their devices might even automatically download it.

Players can look forward to strategy elements, multiplayer, and real-time defense battles. While nobody expects Resident Evil Survival Unit to blow away the best strategy games, players are hoping for gameplay unmarred by egregious monetization in order to give a horror experience true to the mainline Resi games.

Developer Joycity has made it clear that Survival Unit is a non-canonical addition to the Resident Evil universe, so don't worry about why all your favorite characters are making appearances. The player character is a former Umbrella Corporation test subject, leaving plenty of room for storytelling and worldbuilding.

Joycity hasn't yet explained how Survival Unit will be monetized, and players have been speculating. Gachapon-style loot boxes or an energy mechanic are both feasible, but players just want to be able to play without hitting too many paywalls.

Thanks to the million players who have pre-registered their interest in the game since July, six bonuses have been unlocked. These include currency, advanced and special flare guns, and a speedup, and will be unlockable once the game releases.

There's no news yet on when Resident Evil: Survival Unit will be released, other than the general 2025 date. However, you'd imagine Joycity would want to capitalize on the hype of pre-registration, so we could see the game sooner than you think.

In the meantime, you can play through some of the best horror games to whet your appetite for some mobile scares. Alternatively, check out our list of the best RTS games for that strategy fix.

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