Which Resident Evil Games Are Co-Op?

From spinoffs to main entries, there are quite a few Resident Evil titles fans can now play with one or multiple friends. In the more than 20 years of history of the series, about a third of these games offer multiplayer in some respect. The very first game actually had co-op in mind, but that idea was scrapped.

The following games feature co-op as a main feature and not as an afterthought. Also, because there aren’t that many cooperative games in the series, we have included others that have PvP and other multiplayer options. These games are ordered by launch date from furthest to nearest.

Updated On March 19, 2023, by Axel Bosso: We have updated this list with the launch of the multiple-times delayed Resident Evil Re:Verse. We have also updated the formatting and style of this article to our current standards to keep it fresh and enjoyable for you.

12 Resident Evil Outbreak

• Launch Date: December 11, 2003 (Japan)
• Platforms: PS2

The very first Resident Evil game to offer co-op was on PS2 via Resident Evil Outbreak. It launched in 2003 in Japan and a year later in North America. That same year Japan also got an expansion, which would again follow a year later in North America. The concept of this game was to play online with other people and escape Raccoon City as ordinary folks.

Players could assume the role of a waitress or a reporter, for example. Each character had their own skills, although if you wanted to play solo, the cop, Kevin Ryman, was your best choice. That’s because he was better armed than the rest. However, the more people you played with, the easier the game was like a real co-op experience. It was a little too ahead of its time for the PS2’s online infrastructure.

11 Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

• Launch Date: November 13, 2007
• Platforms: Wii, PS3

The next co-op game would take a while as Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles did not launch until 2007 for the Wii. It was exclusively launched for the Nintendo console before being ported to the PS3 a few years later.

The game went through the stories and famous scenarios of Resident Evil 0, the GameCube remake of Resident Evil, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. It was an on-rails light-gun game that supported two players locally.

10 Resident Evil 5

• Launch Date: March 13, 2009
• Platforms: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, PC

While the first two games in the list had co-op, they were spinoffs. Fans consider Resident Evil 5 as the first real co-op game in the series, and they are right to think so. The fifth entry was launched in 2009 on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Resident Evil 5 featured the return of Chris Redfield with his new partner Sheva. It was built with co-op in mind from minute one, but players could still play it alone with the new female protagonist being controlled by the AI. However, if you played it solo, it was most likely that you had a lot of complaints about how poorly the AI was.

9 Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

• Launch Date: November 17, 2009
• Platforms: Wii, PS3

This was another light-gun, on-rails experience. It launched on the Wii in 2009 and it covered the scenarios and set-pieces of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil Code: Veronica, and some new content as well. As what happened with The Umbrella Chronicles, this sequel would also get a PS3 port years later.

The Darkside Chronicles didn’t change the formula too much. In fact, it felt more like an expansion than anything else. That said, it did receive a lot of praise from both fans and critics.

8 Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

• Launch Date: June 28, 2011
• Platforms: 3DS

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D was launched in 2011 on 3DS, a few months after the system’s initial debut. It combined elements from the Mercenary missions from the fourth and fifth entries, and it turned them into a fleshed-out co-op experience.

This was kind of like Monster Hunter but with the Resident Evil universe and core gameplay. Playing through scenarios from Resident Evil 5 was impressive for the hardware back in the day, but there wasn’t enough content to make it really stand out.

7 Resident Evil: Revelations

• Launch Date: February 7, 2012
• Platforms: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, 3DS, Wii U, Switch, PC

Yes, it wouldn’t be until the launch of the sequel that the Revelations subseries would include a proper co-op experience throughout the entire game. However, the original Revelations featured a horde multiplayer mode called Raid Mode, which attract many players back then. You could play this content both alone or with a friend.

Resident Evil: Revelations is remembered with love by fans because it was the entry that returned the series to its horror root after some titles were more action-focused.

6 Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

• Launch Date: March 20, 2012
• Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC

The campaign might be single-player only, but Operation Raccoon City’s main dish is a four-player co-op mode that pits the USS against the U.S. Special Ops teams. Grab a soldier and start taking out the infected while avoiding the other team’s fire and attacks.

Unfortunately, neither the original campaign nor this multiplayer mode are held in high regard by players. However, it was an interesting experiment for the classic series, being the first official PvP experience that you could try in the PlayStation 3 generation.

5 Resident Evil 6

• Launch Date: October 2, 2012
• Platforms: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Another poorly reviewed Resident Evil game from 2012 was the sixth main installment. This expanded the idea of Resident Evil 5’s co-op mode even more by offering three distinct campaigns with their unique protagonists.

Players could go through the stories of Jake and Sherry, Leon and Helena, and Chris and Piers. While it was nice to have three stories with distinctive gameplay features and tone in one package, it was an example of quality lacking in the excess of quantity. If you play with a friend, though, it’s a far more solid experience.

4 Resident Evil: Revelations 2

• Launch Date: February 24, 2015
• Platforms: PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 also featured many chapters that you could play co-op with different protagonists. Players got to finally control Claire Redfield again along with her new partner, Moira. Barry also made a return for the first time since the first Resident Evil, and this was the first time he was actually playable. He wasn’t alone, though: An even younger girl, Natalia, followed him around.

After the fiasco that was Resident Evil 6, this was trying to throwback to some classic gameplay styles. It helped that the Revelations subseries was focused on the horror roots of the series, recovering its survival horror elements.

3 Umbrella Corps

• Launch Date: June 21, 2016
• Platforms: PS4, PC

This 2016 spinoff came out of nowhere and is not remembered by most. It doesn’t even have Resident Evil in the title, for some reason.

Umbrella Corps was the first full launch in the series that was dedicated entirely to multiplayer modes, without any kind of a campaign gimmick. Similar to other shooters, like Call of Duty, it features various modes to play against hordes of other players, being solo or with teams. Unfortunately, it is one of the worst games of the series reviewed on Metacritic.

2 Resident Evil Resistance

• Launch Date: April 3, 2020
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC

This was a separate game that was included with the purchase of Resident Evil 3’s remake in 2020. Players assumed the role of teenagers trapped in an Umbrella experiment wherein one person would be controlling the opposing side.

If you want to compare this experience with another game, Evolve would be a nice example, since you’d play as either a group of regular characters with limited resources or as one lonely antagonist with overpowered odds. While Resident Evil Resistance had its moments, it lost support too soon from Capcom.

1 Resident Evil Re:Verse

• Launch Date: October 28, 2022
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC

This is the latest multiplayer game in the franchise, which came free with Resident Evil Village although it took some time for us to be finally able to play it. The core mode is a death match type of scenario. What sets it apart from other multiplayer-focused entries on this list is the fact that the game is cel-shaded, giving it a distinct look.

Resident Evil Re:Verse has some classic villains and heroes from the series. On the hero side, there are Leon, Chris, Jill, Claire, Ada, and Hunk. On the villain or Bioweapon side, there are the Fat Molded, Hunter Gamma (γ), Nemesis-T Type, Jack Baker, and Super Tyrant. This was certainly one of the most interesting and content-rich multiplayer experiments in the series.