Claim: Resident Evil is a commercial franchise centered around video games of the survival horror genre.

Resident Evil , known as in Japan , is a survival horror video game-based media franchise created by Shinji Mikami and Tokuro Fujiwara and owned by the video game company Capcom . The franchise focuses around a series of survival horror video games , but has since branched out into comic books , novels , novelizations , sound dramas , live-action films , animated sequels to the games , and a variety of associated merchandise , such as action figures . The series ' overarching plot focuses on multiple characters , and their roles in recurring outbreaks of zombies and other monsters , initially due to the release of the T-virus , but still more biological weapons over time , created mainly by the fictional Umbrella Corporation and various other organizations in later games .   The eponymous first game in the series was released in 1996 as a survival horror video game , but the franchise has since grown to encompass other video game genres . The series is a mix of action and horror film-inspired plotlines , exploration , and puzzle solving . As of January 27 , 2017 , the video game series has sold 75 million units worldwide , and is Capcom 's biggest franchise in terms of software sales .