Summary
Though an official confirmation that the game is even in development has not been made, rumors surroundingResident Evil 9have only continued to grow louder over the last year, from initial leaks stating that Chris Redfield could be the game’s protagonist, to rumors suggesting that a Fall 2024 announcement could be in the cards. The latest rumor, and one of the most intriguing so far, comes from renownedleaker Dusk Golem, who stated thatResident Evil 9—along withMonster Hunter Wilds—is building on the same tech behind the recently releasedDragon’s Dogma 2, suggesting that the nextResident Evilentry could be an open-world game.
Taking to Twitter on August 02, 2025, Dusk Golem specifically stated that “Dragons Dogma 2 expanded RE Engine functionality for open world games,” and followed that up by saying “the two other games building on this tech is Monster Hunter Wild & Resident Evil 9.” Though this is far from any official confirmation, and all leaks should always be taken with a hefty pinch of salt, an open-worldResident Evilgame has a lot of potential, especially if it took some notes fromDragon’s Dogma 2’s unique open-world approach.
What An Open-World Resident Evil Could Take From Dragon’s Dogma 2
Emergent Gameplay and Narratives Are Key
Though it’s been a feature present in gaming for a while now,Dragon’s Dogma 2sets a new bar for emergent storytelling and gameplay. While traversing throughDragon’s Dogma 2’s open world, players will often encounter a pack of enemies such as goblins.
While random enemy patrols are nothing new for the open-world genre, it’s what often happens next that setsDragon’s Dogma 2apart from the rest of the crowd.
As players continue to battle these goblins, it’s often the case that a new group of enemies will join the fray. These enemies can range from extra goblins to a pack of wolves to a group of bandits to even some kind of giganticmonsters like a cyclops, griffin, or minotaur.
Suddenly, a very simple enemy encounter has been ramped up to a mini-scale war, with all parties trying desperately to survive. Pair this with a cutting-edge physics system and some unpredictable movesets, and these battles can often level entire environments. No one battle is the same inDragon’s Dogma 2, and that’s something thatResident Evil 9could learn.
Though it’s probably a little more tricky to adapt RNG-oriented gameplay and narratives in a traditionalResident Evilsetting, there are ways that it could still work in an open-worldResident Evil 9. Some of themost memorable moments in theResident Evil 2remakeoccurred when the player would be fighting off a few standard zombies and would suddenly be ambushed by a Licker or the dreaded Mr. X, and this is something that could be translated into an open-worldResident Evil.
An Open-World RE9 Needs to Put Player-Led Exploration at the Forefront
Taking cues fromgames likeZelda: Breath of the WildandElden Ring,Dragon’s Dogma 2strongly focuses on player-led exploration. Essentially, this means that quests and other mini-map markers are minimal, and players are instead encouraged to explore the open world freely, letting their own sense of adventure lead them.Dragon’s Dogma 2’s world design enhances this greatly, with points of interest being given some kind of distinctive architecture that encourages players to find out more about the area.
An open-worldResident Evil 9would be perfectly suited to adopt this same level of player-led exploration. TheResident Evilfranchisehas often revolved around exploring a unique environment, observing possible points of interest, and investigating them. So it wouldn’t be too much of a departure to expand this out into an open-world setting, letting the player find their own route through the zombie-infested world by going from point of interest to point of interest.
Dragon’s Dogma 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Set forth on your grand adventure, Arisen!Dragon’s Dogma is a single player, narrative driven action-RPG series that challenges the players to choose their own experience – from the appearance of their Arisen, their vocation, their party, how to approach different situations and more. Now, in this long-awaited sequel, the deep, explorable fantasy world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 awaits.On your journey, you’ll be joined by Pawns, mysterious otherworldly beings, in an adventure so unique you will feel as if accompanied by other players while on your own adventure.All of these elements are elevated further through physics technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and the latest in graphics, to create a truly immersive fantasy world in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
