The world of Resident Evil is riddled with contagious viruses that turn ordinary folk into zombies or supercharged biological weapons. This catastrophe can be traced to a powerful and corrupt conglomerate called the Umbrella Corporation. Like any comically greedy company, Umbrella has subsidiaries in different industries all over the world. These companies under the umbrella of Umbrella offer some great insight into the parent corporation's real motives.
Umbrella Corp. Has been at the center of the Resident Evil games since its debut title. In the first RE, Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS) members Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine investigate a mansion in Raccoon City that turns out to be an Umbrella research facility. It was established early on that the company’s true objective was to create bio-organic weapons (BOW) using mutagenic viruses. Raccoon City was soon enveloped by a viral outbreak of Umbrella's virus during the finale of RE1, which became the catalyst of conflict for future titles in the franchise.
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The Umbrella Corporation's Subsidiaries in Resident Evil Paint a Complete Picture of Its Frightening Power
Umbrella has kept busy in the years since the RE franchise kicked off. As players explore the other Resident Evil games, they'll discover that the Umbrella Corporation has been dabbling in developing BOWs since its inception in the middle of the 20th century.
Umbrella Pharmaceuticals
This is the company that started it all. It was created by American virologists Oswell E. Spencer, Edward Ashford, and James Marcus in the 1960s to practice eugenics, which, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute, is a scientifically inaccurate belief that humans could advance through selective breeding. They put this racist theory to the test using a mutagenic virus called the Progenitor, found from a species of flowers that grew in West Africa.
Backed by Spencer’s funding, Ashford and Marcus experimented with the Progenitor’s supposed ability to “spur natural selection” upon a select group of people. Such individuals were born from parents whom Spencer deemed to have “superior strength and intellect.” To get additional funding and government support for this project, they developed a strain of the Progenitor to sell to the American military.
While all this was happening, they operated under the guise of a run-of-the-mill medicine manufacturer. Umbrella Pharmaceuticals' influence grew despite the murderous conflicts between its founders, and it eventually expanded its operations across the globe and in different industries under the banner of the Umbrella Corporation.
Umbrella Corporation’s Multinational Companies
- Umbrella U.S.A.: This Chicago-based company oversaw Umbrella Pharmaceuticals laboratories and plants across the United States from the 1980s until its downfall in the early 2000s. One of its facilities is the Arklay Laboratory, which created the Tyrant bio-weapon in Resident Evil.
- Umbrella Japan Co., Ltd.: Not much is known about this company apart from being a research institute that focused on biotechnology.
- Umbrella Europe: This company was known for its Nemesis Project, which focused its research on significantly enhancing its BOW’s intelligence rather than strength.
Umbrella Europe and Japan collapsed shortly after the U.S. Headquarters was shut down by the government.
Umbrella Corporation’s Side-Projects
- Umbrella Medical Equipment: This global medical research operation had the task of creating a vaccine for the Tyrant Virus, which caused the Raccoon City incident.
- Umbrella Industries: This company is Umbrella’s foray into developing actual weapons. One of its creations is a Flamethrower which its labs used to kill escaped lab subjects.
- Parasol: This is the corporation’s electronics arm, which developed its digital storage solutions and other security-related tech.
- Umbrella T.V. Channel: This was a pay-per-view TV station that aired a violent game show where human contestants fought against the company’s bioweapons and zombies for survival and a financial reward.
- Paraguas Line Company: This cruise line company was essentially a front for the intercontinental transportation of the Umbrella Corporation’s BOWs.
Umbrella-Adjacent Splinter Organizations
- Neo Umbrella: This is a terrorist organization founded by virologist Carla Radames. Despite having no real relation to the actual corporation, this group used the Umbrella name to further its goal of destroying the world. It collapsed after the death of Radames in 2013.
- Blue Umbrella: This private military firm was created by former Umbrella U.S.A. Members to atone for the defunct corporation’s sins and develop anti-BOW products and services. Despite its altruistic cause, some people still suspect its motives.
Resident Evil 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- March 24, 2023
- ESRB
- M for Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Publisher(s)
- Capcom
- Engine
- RE Engine
- Franchise
- Resident Evil
WHERE TO PLAY
Survival is just the beginning.
Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City.
Agent Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors of the incident, has been sent to rescue the president's kidnapped daughter. He tracks her to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals.
And the curtain rises on this story of daring rescue and grueling horror where life and death, terror and catharsis intersect.
Featuring modernized gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics, Resident Evil 4 marks the rebirth of an industry juggernaut.
Relive the nightmare that revolutionized survival horror.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- How Long To Beat
- 16 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
