In what year is Resident Evil 5 primarily set?

Resident Evil 5 is primarily set in 2009.

The game follows Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar as agents of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) investigating illegal biological-weapons activity in the fictional African region of Kijuju. Its events occur several years after the destruction of Raccoon City and after the events of Resident Evil 4, which is set in 2004.

The 2009 setting is important to the series timeline because it places Chris’s investigation during the expanding global bioterrorism crisis. The story also revisits major characters and organizations from earlier games, including Albert Wesker, Jill Valentine, Umbrella, and the BSAA.

A common mix-up is confusing the game’s setting year with its release year. Resident Evil 5 was released in 2009, and its main story also takes place in that same year. The game launched for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2009, followed by other versions later.