Resident Evil 5 is back on top
Resident Evil 5 has climbed back to the head of the pack after Capcom published its financials for FY2025. The co-op action entry — released 17 years ago — has now moved 19.01M copies and reclaimed the franchise's sales crown.
This title is often named as the moment the series leaned away from pure survival horror toward faster-paced, co-op play. Opinions about that shift still flare up among fans; some never forgave it, others embraced it. Re-releases, add-ons and the Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition kept the game selling steadily over the years, so its current victory feels less like a sudden miracle and more like slow, stubborn momentum.
The most striking detail: in Q1 2026 alone RE5 added roughly 1M copies (ca. 1M). Why the jump? Capcom's drop of Resident Evil Requiem appears to have pulled players back into the catalogue, sparking renewed interest in older entries. The recent momentum bumped the Resident Evil 2 remake — which had been sitting on top recently — back down to second place.
A lot of those classics are getting another look right now. Capcom has been more active with the brand, and the result is curious: nostalgia, discovery by new players, and a few heated online arguments all happening at once.
For Capcom this is oddly symbolic. A game that once divided the community now stands as the franchise's biggest commercial hit — controversial legacy and all.