Resident Evil, known in Japan as Biohazard, is a Japanese horror video game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter, and first-person shooter games. The franchise has expanded into a live-action film series, animated films, television series, comic books, novels, audio dramas, and other media and merchandise. The first Resident Evil was created by Shinji Mikami and Tokuro Fujiwara and released for the PlayStation in 1996.It is credited for defining the survival horror genre and returning zombies to popular culture. With Resident Evil 4 (2005), the franchise shifted to more dynamic shooting action; it influenced the evolution of the survival horror and third-person genres, popularizing the "over-the-shoulder" third-person view. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) moved the series to a first-person perspective. Resident Evil is Capcom's best-selling video game franchise, with 123 million units sold worldwide as of December 2021. It is the best-selling horror game series, in addition to the film adaptations being the highest-grossing live-action video game film series, making Resident Evil the highest-grossing franchise in the horror and zombie genres.