The plot, setting, and game design pillars of Resident Evil 9 are mostly under wraps for now, but there's an argument to be made for Capcom introducing a new protagonist, similar to how the franchise brought Ethan Winters into the fold in 2017's Resident Evil 7. There are a number of benefits to this route, especially if Capcom wants Resident Evil to retain the first-person perspective of its seventh and eighth entries, and if it wants to continue leaning into horror.