The timeline for the Resident Evil games can be a little confusing to mentally map out, especially since most of the early games took place in the same year and some of the spin-offs happen in-between games. Fortunately, most of the mainline titles are released linearly, with no flashbacks or confusing time jumps. However, the Shadow of Rose DLC for Resident Evil: Village has the franchise’s biggest time skip yet. If the math is accurate, the story for the DLC takes place far in the future.
Related: How long does Shadow of Rose take to beat in Resident Evil: Village? Answered
When does Shadow of Rose take place?
Spoilers for the main campaign mode in Resident Evil: Village. Ethan Winters sacrifice himself for the safety of his daughter Rose when she’s a baby. Shadow of Rose picks up when Rose is sixteen years old. The events of Village happened in February 2021, which means Shadow of Rose takes place in the far future of 2037. The DLC story is the biggest time skip that the franchise has encountered, and it is unknown if the series will continue with where Shadow of Rose leaves off or take place in the years before Shadow of Rose. Rose’s unique biology could have also artificially aged her.
Rose’s story in the DLC is more personal and doesn’t affect the narrative of the main games. Future titles in the Resident Evil franchise can take place in-between the end of Village to the Shadow of Rose without it affecting Rose’s character too much. However, Village does establish that Chris Redfield is an important figure in Rose’s life, so it is a mystery how a young Rose will affect Chris’s character as the franchise moves beyond the end of Village.
The rest of the Resident Evil timeline
Most of the mainline Resident Evil Games take place more or less the year the game’s launch. The original trilogy took place in the same year, 1998, before moving on to the early 2000s with Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 6 was the first game in the main series to take place in the future; the game was released in 2012, yet takes place in 2013. The first Resident Evil Revelations game launched in 2012 but took place in 2005.
Below is the full list of the Resident Evil games timeline:
- 1998
- Resident Evil 0
- Resident Evil
- Resident Evil 2
- Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
- Resident Evil Code: Veronica
- 2004
- Resident Evil 4
- 2004 — 2005
- Resident Evil: Revelations
- 2009
- Resident Evil 5
- 2011
- Resident Evil: Revelations 2
- 2013
- Resident Evil 6
- 2017
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- 2021
- Resident Evil: Village (Main Campaign)
- 2037 (?)
- Resident Evil: Village (Shadow of Rose)
