Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) is a Japanese multimedia horror franchise owned by the video game company Capcom. The franchise was created in 1996 with Resident Evil, a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation console. The game's critical and commercial success drove Capcom to continue developing the series. Due to Resident Evil<nowiki/>'s extended success, Capcom licensed more media based on the franchise including live action and animated films, novels, and comics.