The world ofResident Evilis 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 calledthe 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 theResident Evilgames since its debut title. In the firstRE, 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 ofRE1, which became the catalyst of conflict for future titles in the franchise.
The Umbrella Corporation’s Subsidiaries in Resident Evil Paint a Complete Picture of Its Frightening Power
Umbrella has kept busy in the years since theREfranchise kicked off. As players explore the otherResident Evilgames, 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 amutagenic 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 Europe and Japan collapsed shortly after the U.S. headquarters was shut down by the government.
Resident Evil 4
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.
