Capcom's first-person Resident Evil 7 reboot became the series' first 10m-seller.

Resident Evil defined survival horror in the 1990s, but by Resident Evil 6 (2012) the series had drifted into bombastic action and lost its way with critics and fans.

Capcom's decision: a soft reboot — Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, released in January 2017 — shifting to a first-person perspective and setting the story in a Louisiana plantation, returning to intimate survival horror and becoming the first mainline entry fully playable in VR.

The shift was a bet on the franchise's roots rather than its recent blockbuster formula, trading spectacle for atmosphere and restraint.

The gamble paid off: RE7 shipped over 10 million units, the first game in the series to do so, and re-established the horror DNA that later entries and remakes built on.

Resident Evil 7 shipped over 10 million units worldwide, the first Resident Evil to pass that mark, and restored the series' horror identity.

First-person perspective made the horror immediate and personal.

Returning to survival roots differentiated it from the action titles that had blurred the brand.

VR support gave the game a new-experience halo.

Digital pricing and promotions extended its long-tail sales.

When a franchise loses what made it distinct, a radical reset of perspective and tone can win back the core audience and bring in new players.

Resident Evil Village (2021) continued the first-person direction and the RE2 and RE4 remakes confirmed the horror-first strategy, lifting the franchise's sales and reputation through the late 2010s and 2020s.