Eight years ago, Capcom unleashed Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, a chilling new entry in its iconic survival horror franchise.  Initially released on January 24th for PS4, Xbox One, and Windows (with a slightly later Japanese release on January 26th), and later on Switch via cloud gaming in May 2018, the game marked a significant shift for the series.

Players take on the role of Ethan Winters, a desperate husband searching for his wife, Mia, who vanished three years prior. His search leads him to a derelict farmhouse in the rural American South, where a nightmare awaits. Notably, Resident Evil 7 was the first main series entry to utilize a first-person perspective and also embraced the immersive potential of PlayStation VR.

The game was lauded as a return to the core tenets of the Resident Evil series, with praise directed at its gripping narrative, tense atmosphere, superb voice acting and soundtrack, and immersive audio-visual presentation. While some criticism was aimed at its final boss encounter, the game's overall reception was overwhelmingly positive.

The VR implementation garnered significant acclaim, earning Resident Evil 7 numerous awards, including 'Best VR/AR Game' at The Game Awards 2017, as well as 'Best VR Game' at both the Golden Joystick Awards and SXSW Gaming Awards.  These accolades solidified the game's position as a benchmark for VR horror experiences.

Despite initial shipments falling short of Capcom's 4 million projection (with 2.5 million units shipped in the first week), Resident Evil 7 proved to be a long-term success. By March 2022, the game had achieved lifetime sales of 10.8 million copies, solidifying its place as the best-selling title in the entire Resident Evil series. Capcom acknowledged this achievement, stating that the digital distribution landscape allows for extended engagement with a wider audience, making initial shipment figures a less reliable indicator of overall success.  They affirmed their commitment to focusing on long-term growth in the digital age.

The success of Resident Evil 7 paved the way for its highly anticipated sequel, Resident Evil Village (Resident Evil 8), which launched globally on May 7, 2021, followed by a Japanese release on May 8th. The continued popularity of the franchise stands as a testament to Resident Evil 7's revitalizing impact.