Resident Evil Survival Unit is an upcoming real-time strategy game co-developed by Aniplex and JOYCITY in collaboration with Capcom. Set in a parallel universe adjacent to Resident Evil 2 and 3, the title transforms the horror franchise’s formula with base building, puzzles and strategic defense gameplay, while featuring familiar characters like Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine. With the new spin-off set to launch by the end of 2025 across mobile platforms, the developers recently shed some light on what players should expect in terms of gacha and microtransactions in the game.
Talking to 4Gamer, game director Dongkyun Kye and business lead Jun Seung Park explain that with Resident Evil Survival Unit being a strategy game, it will involve collecting characters. However, not through paid gacha. “Almost all of the game’s content is accessible without paying, but if you want to obtain specific characters earlier than usual, that may require payment.” Character purchases will be direct, so you can simply buy the ones you want. Additionally, Resident Evil Survival Unit will come with a free gacha system.
The game’s monetization is instead intended to rely primarily on time-saving items. However, Park notes that JOYCITY was determined to make the game equally enjoyable for people who aren’t keen on spending money. “During our internal playtests, we found that even without paying, you can enjoy the game fully long as you form groups and work together with other players.”
Resident Evil Survival Unit is described by Aniplex as a “global multiplayer experience.” Although the real-time defense battles will be singleplayer, the concept is that players band together against the shared enemy that is Umbrella Corporation (although there is an element of competition in who takes down the enemy’s secret base first). When encountering fellow survival units in-game, you can opt for either cooperation or conflict, but it seems that choosing to work with other players will help reduce the need for grinding and/or microtransactions. Additionally, the game will include some minor PvP elements like a training arena.
According to the devs, Resident Evil Survival Unit’s development is going smoothly and on schedule, which means the game will drop sometime within the next three months for iOS and Android. Pre-registrations are open.
