Resident Evil 6 is a 2012 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2012, and for Windows in March 2013. It was re-released with all downloadable content for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in March 2016, and for the Nintendo Switch in October 2019. Players control Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Jake Muller and Ada Wong as they confront the force behind a worldwide bio-terrorist attack. The story is centred around their four interwoven campaigns, and every campaign features a unique style in both tone and gameplay.
Resident Evil 6 was conceived in 2009 and entered full development the following year under Resident Evil 4 producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi. It had a development staff of more than 600, making it Capcom's largest production. Resident Evil 6 received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the graphics, artificial intelligence and controls, but criticized the execution of the interwoven campaigns and departure from the survival horror roots of the franchise in favor of a more action-oriented style. Despite these criticisms, the game sold 15.2 million units by September 2025. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, released in 2017, switched to a first-person perspective and returned to the survival horror genre.
Gameplay
Resident Evil 6 allows players to select between four scenarios with interwoven storylines centered on Division of Security Operations (DSO) agent Leon S. Kennedy, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) Captain Chris Redfield, mercenary Jake Muller and spy Ada Wong.
In the Leon, Chris and Jake scenarios, players have the option of controlling either them or their respective partners, United States Secret Service agent Helena Harper, BSAA sniper Piers Nivans and DSO agent Sherry Birkin. The character not selected by the player is controlled by either artificial intelligence (AI) or another player via local or online multiplayer. Ada's scenario can be played with or without a partner and a second player who joins will control the non-canonical character Agent. In addition, each scenario features a different play-style; for example, some player-characters are more vulnerable to attacks whereas others are more resilient. Each central character has unique abilities, which vary from faster reload times and carrying more ammunition. Resident Evil 6 presents new gameplay mechanics such as rolling in any direction and running while shooting and sliding. The game also features a four-player co-operative mode. When playing in single player mode, the player can allow another player to join in online at any time. While performing certain actions, quick time events may occur, in which the player must follow onscreen prompts by pressing buttons or manipulating joysticks within a limited amount of time.
A new feature comes in the form of tablets; players may consume them in order to recover health, and more can be produced by mixing herbs. If one player runs out of health, that player will have a short time to try to defend themselves while their partners attempt to revive them. If any non-AI players are killed, gameplay will resume at the last checkpoint. The game features several primary enemies, including zombies and the newly introduced J'avo. Unlike zombies, J'avo are able to interact with each other to plan an attack, use weapons and heal themselves. Also some J'avo are susceptible to various mutations that increase their prowess in battle, the type of mutation sometimes depends on location of the injury. There are a total of 15 different mutations within the game. Certain enemies drop skill points when killed, which can be picked up and spent on upgrades such as increased weapon effectiveness or specific ammunition drops. The campaigns feature a "Lone Wolf" ability which allows the player to remove their artificial intelligence companion character. Players can equip three of these upgrades which apply to all campaigns. The game also features a stamina bar; which depletes once the player performs melee attacks, or uses a "quickshot"—which involves shooting a zombie with a headshot instantly. Resident Evil 6 is twice as long as Resident Evil 5.
The game features two new modes. "Mercenaries" mode involves players fighting for survival against hordes of enemies. In the PC version, the Mercenaries mode features an exclusive sub-mode named "No Mercy", which involves the cast from Left 4 Dead 2 fighting a total number of 300 enemies against a timer. "Agent Hunt" mode allows players to take control of random enemies in other people's online sessions; however, it is only unlocked after the player clears the three main campaigns. The longer the player stays in another online session, the more points they will earn.
Plot On 24 December 2012, mercenary Jake Muller (Troy Baker / Daisuke Namikawa) is fighting in a civil war within the Eastern European country of Edonia when his employers, the Edonian Liberation Army, unknowingly turn themselves into intelligent and adaptive bio-weapons known as J'avo after using injections supplied by the bio-terrorist group Neo-Umbrella. Jake is unaffected, and during his escape from the berserking rebels partners with Division of Security Operations (DSO) agent and Raccoon City survivor Sherry Birkin (Eden Riegel / Maaya Sakamoto), learning that she is to extract him from the country to create a vaccine for the newly emerged C-virus; Jake accepts on the promise of a lucrative payout. However, they are relentlessly hunted by Ustanak, a hulking bio-weapon. Meanwhile, the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) intervenes in the conflict, leading to a strike team led by Chris Redfield (Roger Craig Smith / Hiroki Tōchi) and Piers Nivans (Christopher Emerson / Shuhei Sakaguchi) being deployed to eliminate the rampaging J'avo. After briefly being assisted by Jake and Sherry, who are soon after extracted by helicopter, they are attacked by the leader of Neo-Umbrella, who claims to be Ada Wong (Courtenay Taylor / Junko Minagawa); she kills the entire team, except Chris and Piers, using a device that injects them with the C-virus, turning them into J'avo. Chris goes into a self-imposed exile, afflicted with post-traumatic amnesia. Meanwhile, Sherry and Jake's helicopter is attacked by Ustanak, forcing them to crash land into the mountains where they are captured by Neo-Umbrella and experimented on for six months, during which Jake learns that he is the son of late bio-terrorist Albert Wesker.
On 29 June 2013, US President Adam Benford (Michael Donovan / Katsuhiko Sasaki) plans to publicly disclose the truth behind the 1998 Raccoon City incident and the government's dealings with Umbrella to prevent further bio-terrorism. However, the venue, located in the American town of Tall Oaks, is hit by a gaseous form of the C-virus that zombifies its victims; the President is among the infected, forcing the only survivors, DSO agent and Raccoon City survivor Leon S. Kennedy (Matthew Mercer / Toshiyuki Morikawa) and Secret Service agent Helena Harper (Laura Bailey / Mayumi Sako), to kill him before making their way out of Tall Oaks. The pair encounters Ada during their escape, and Leon learns that National Security Advisor Derek Simmons (David Lodge / Takayuki Sugō) is affiliated with Neo-Umbrella and orchestrated the attack by blackmailing Helena into providing an opening in the President's security detail. Simmons frames Leon and Helena as the culprits behind it, forcing the two to fake their deaths and pursue him to Lanshiang, China.
The next day, Jake and Sherry escape from their captivity and make their way to Simmons, Sherry's superior, while Chris returns to duty in the BSAA with Piers and a new team in Lanshiang, where Neo-Umbrella has launched an open offensive using an army of J'avo. Chris recovers from his amnesia and recklessly pursues Ada, resulting in most of his unit sans Piers being killed before they cross paths with Leon and Helena, who intervene unaware of Ada's apparent involvement in Neo-Umbrella. After the resulting brawl, Leon manages to talk Chris down from killing Ada in a fit of rage before going their separate ways. Leon, Helena, Sherry, and Jake confront Simmons over his involvement with the outbreaks, during which Sherry covertly hands Jake's medical data to Leon in case of their capture. Simmons, infected by a J'avo on the orders of a now-rogue Ada, admits to assassinating the President in a deluded attempt to maintain national security and protect America's authority on the world stage. Sherry and Jake are captured again by Neo-Umbrella after they leave, while Leon and Helena defeat a mutated Simmons. Meanwhile, Chris and Piers pursue Ada to an aircraft carrier, but she is assassinated by one of Simmons' men in retaliation before the BSAA can take her into custody; they then attempt to prevent the launch of a cruise missile loaded with the C-virus by Neo-Umbrella, but ultimately fail, leading to a massive outbreak in Lanshiang. Both Leon and Chris call to tell each other of Jake's true identity and capture and Ada's assassination, before a disheartened Leon and Helena attempt to escape the outbreak. With the assistance of a still-living Ada, they kill a further mutated Simmons for good.
Chris and Piers head into an underwater facility beneath an oil platform, where they free Jake and Sherry from captivity before they all cross paths with Haos, a massive bio-weapon activated by Ada's apparent death with the intent of spreading the C-virus on a global scale. After the pairs split, Chris and Piers attempt to fight Haos directly, initially to little effect. Severely injured, Piers injects himself with the C-virus to turn the tide of the battle, allowing them to defeat Haos. However, aware of his inevitable mutation, Piers sacrifices himself by forcing Chris into an escape pod and using his mutated abilities to destroy the facility. Meanwhile, Jake resolves to be a better man than his father was, and together with Sherry kills Ustanak as they escape on a rocket-powered lift to the surface.
Several days prior to the Tall Oaks attack, Ada Wong (also Taylor / Minagawa) is contacted by Simmons, a former client of hers and leader of an American fraternity known as The Family, to investigate a Neo-Umbrella submarine, finding a briefing for a mission in Edonia addressed to her despite never taking part in it. Following the resulting trail to Tall Oaks and Lanshiang, Ada discovers that the "Simmons" that hired her is actually Carla Radames, a scientist who was forced to transform into a clone of Ada by Simmons, having become obsessively enamored with the spy. Carla's former identity eventually resurfaced, driving her insane, and she seized control of the Family's assets in Lanshiang to form Neo-Umbrella as a way to exact revenge on Simmons, subsequently becoming the "Ada Wong" which Chris had encountered. Although presumed dead after her assassination, a delirious Carla attempts a final attack against Ada after injecting herself with a powerful dose of the C-virus, but is killed. Ada then helps Leon and Helena in their fight against Simmons, and later destroys the laboratory where Carla was developed before accepting a new assignment. Leon and Helena are cleared for duty; Chris remains with the BSAA in command of a new squad after overcoming his guilt; Sherry continues her work as a DSO agent; and Jake begins a new life combating bioterrorism in a developing country, with his identity concealed by the BSAA.
Development and release