15 years later, Resident Evil 5 has been dethroned as the franchise’s best-selling game by a more recent installment

For a decade and a half—which is easier said than done—Resident Evil 5 (2009) has been the undisputed king of Capcom’s popular franchise in terms of sales. Its original release was a critical and commercial success, and its subsequent re-releases and numerous promotions over the years kept it riding high. However, in 2026, this reign is coming to an end, as it has been dethroned by a more recent title. The award-winning Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019) has become the series’ new best-selling title, snatching a historic spot from the adventure featuring Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar.

Resident Evil 2 Remake is crowned the best-selling title in the series after surpassing Resident Evil 5 in sales

Although it received some criticism for its gameplay and presentation, which were somewhat similar to those of Resident Evil 4 (2005), Resident Evil 5, released in 2009, has been the best-selling installment in the series for fifteen years. Among its many strengths are its gameplay, cutting-edge technical features for its generation, and a highly entertaining co-op mode that allowed players to play through the entire game with a friend, either locally or online. From its release date to the present, RE5 has sold a whopping 19.01 million units, including the original PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, the subsequent PC port, and later re-releases.

However, as revealed in Capcom’s most recent financial report, there’s a new big hit in the franchise: Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019), which has already sold 19.75 million units. Its critical reception was unanimous: it was an outstanding title and one of the best video games of all time, as evidenced by its average score of around 90 on Metacritic across its various versions.

This new milestone in the series is very significant for Capcom. This isn’t just another sales record; the fact that the best-selling Resident Evil title is a remake of a classic installment could set the course for the franchise’s future. In fact, the company has already hinted that it intends to increase its release pace and move toward a new installment every year, similar to Call of Duty. Producer Masachika Kawata recently revealed that revisiting older games and remaking them helps Capcom achieve this goal. Furthermore, its financial success allows the company to reinvest its profits into entirely original new franchises, such as Pragmata.

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