Resident Evil Survival Unit, the upcoming spin-off of the free-to-play smartphone strategy game, will not require paid gacha mechanics to unlock its long list of characters.
Announced earlier this year, Survival Unit lets you create a team of fan-favorite characters like Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy, and Claire Redfield, and then take them on increasingly challenging zombie hunts.
A long list of familiar faces appear in the game, including some deep cuts from the Resident Evil series (and Barry Burton!). Now, developer Joycity has said that it has designed the game to be enjoyed without paying, without the paid gacha mechanics found in many other free, character-filled mobile games.
While you may pay to unlock some characters earlier than you would otherwise have access to them, these microtransactions will be direct, so players will be able to decide whether to pay for a specific hero or not.
“Almost all of the game’s content is available without paying, but if you want to get certain characters earlier than usual, payment may be required,” said Jun Seung Park, creator of Resident Evil Survival Unit 4Playertranslated by Machine.
“During our internal testing, we found that even without paying, you can fully enjoy the game if you create groups and cooperate with other players.”
Gameplay involves building a familiar-looking mansion as a base where your characters will live and interact. You’ll then embark on survival missions against familiar Resident Evil enemies in “global multiplayer.” Although missions are primarily single-player, all players will work together to defeat enemies in a coordinated fight against the Umbrella Corporation. A PvP training arena will also be included.
Described as “the world’s first full Resident Evil game on mobile devices,” Resident Evil Survival Unit will be released before the end of 2025 for iPhone and Android devices. If nothing else, it could facilitate pass the time until Resident Evil Requiem arrives next year on February 27, 2026.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s news editor. You can contact Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
