C-virus: the Virus Behind Resident Evil 6 Explained
The C-virus is the bioweapon behind the 2012 and 2013 outbreaks in Resident Evil 6. Here's who made it, what it was built from, how it creates J'avo, cocoons and zombies, and how Jake Muller's blood beat it.
The C-virus is the bioweapon behind every outbreak in Resident Evil 6, from Edonia in December 2012 to Tall Oaks and Lanshiang in June 2013. It was developed by Carla Radames for Derek Simmons and a secret group called the Family, and it was built from two older viruses: Alexia Ashford's t-Veronica and William Birkin's G-virus. Depending on how it's delivered, it turns people into thinking soldiers, into cocoons that hatch monsters, or into fast-moving zombies. (Resident Evil 6)
Who made the C-virus#
The C-virus was Derek Simmons's project. He was the US National Security Advisor and the head of the Family, a secret group that had steered world affairs for generations. He believed bioweapons would be used whatever anyone did, and after Raccoon City he wanted the Family to have its own. (Resident Evil 6)
The science was Carla Radames's. She was a prodigy the Family had picked up young, and Resident Evil 6's files put the start of the project in the early 2000s. Simmons also had her working on a second goal: a living copy of Ada Wong, the woman he was obsessed with. After many failed test subjects, Carla herself was put through the process and came out of a cocoon as Ada's double. Her mind didn't survive it intact, and she turned on Simmons. (Resident Evil 6)
What it was built from#
Carla started with t-Veronica, the virus Alexia Ashford had made in the 1980s. t-Veronica let a host keep their mind, but only after years of slow bonding. Carla stripped out the part that caused sudden, runaway mutation and produced a strain that left hosts thinking clearly without the wait. (Resident Evil 6; Resident Evil Code: Veronica)
She then added the G-virus. Simmons had access to Sherry Birkin, who had carried G in her body since her father infected her in Raccoon City, and samples of her blood went into the new virus. From G it took the ability to keep changing the body after the first mutation and to heal damage, even to bring the dead back. (Resident Evil 6; Resident Evil 2)
How the C-virus works#
It depends on the delivery.
- Injection makes a J'avo. The host keeps their memory, skills and loyalties, can use guns and vehicles, and fights in organised units. When a J'avo is hurt, the damaged part mutates into something new, like insect legs, wings or a giant claw. (Resident Evil 6)
- Chrysalid. Some hosts wrap themselves in a cocoon, which the files call a chrysalid, and emerge as a new creature. Chris's team in Edonia died this way. (Resident Evil 6)
- Gas spread over a crowd, as at Tall Oaks and Lanshiang, turns people into zombies that are faster and more aggressive than the T-virus kind. (Resident Evil 6)
There's a cost. The constant healing pushes a host's body temperature up, and badly hurt J'avo can burn up from the inside. (Resident Evil 6)
The same research produced the giant bioweapons of the game, including the Ustanak, the hulking pursuer sent after Jake and Sherry, and Haos, Carla's last creation, grown in an undersea lab to spread the virus across the world. (Resident Evil 6)
The outbreaks#
- Edonia, 24 December 2012. Rebels in the Eastern European civil war were armed with C-virus J'avo through Neo-Umbrella. The fake Ada infected Chris Redfield's BSAA team, who turned into cocoons and were killed by what came out. (Resident Evil 6)
- Tall Oaks, June 2013. Simmons had the virus released at Ivy University to kill President Adam Benford before he could reveal the truth about Raccoon City. Leon S. Kennedy had to shoot his friend. The city was destroyed with a missile. (Resident Evil 6)
- Lanshiang, June to July 2013. Carla fired a missile full of C-virus over the Chinese city, filling it with zombies. Leon, Chris, Sherry, Jake Muller and Ada all ended up there. (Resident Evil 6)
The enhanced C-virus#
While Jake and Sherry were held captive for six months, Carla used Jake's blood to make a stronger version. The enhanced strain made mutation the body's answer to any serious injury, so the host could keep evolving as long as they lived. Only a few doses existed. One went into Simmons, who went through form after form before Leon, Ada and Helena Harper killed him. Carla used another on herself. Piers Nivans took the last, injecting himself in the undersea lab to get the strength to fight Haos, then sent Chris to safety and stayed behind as the facility collapsed. (Resident Evil 6)
The vaccine#
Jake was the answer. He was Albert Wesker's son, and his blood carried antibodies to the C-virus. Sherry brought him out of Edonia so a vaccine could be made, and after the Lanshiang outbreak it was. The files say it protects people who haven't been infected and does little or nothing for those who have already mutated. With it, the C-virus stopped being much use as a weapon. (Resident Evil 6)
The full story of the outbreaks and all four campaigns is in the Resident Evil 6 story, and the other creatures it produced are in every Resident Evil monster. (Resident Evil 6)
Frequently asked questions
- Who created the C-virus in Resident Evil 6?
- Carla Radames, the chief scientist of a secret group called the Family, working for its leader Derek Simmons.
- What is the C-virus made from?
- Resident Evil 6's files say it started from a reworked strain of Alexia Ashford's t-Veronica virus, combined with G-virus material from Sherry Birkin's blood.
- What are J'avo?
- People injected directly with the C-virus. They keep their minds and their skills, can use weapons and follow orders, and mutate the parts of their bodies that get hurt.
- Is there a cure for the C-virus?
- There's a vaccine, made from Jake Muller's blood, which carries antibodies to the virus. It works on people who haven't mutated, not on those already turned.
- What does the C in C-virus stand for?
- The game never spells it out. It's usually read as chrysalid, the word Resident Evil 6's files use for the cocoons the virus creates.
Sources
- GameResident Evil 6, Capcom, 2012
- GameResident Evil Code: Veronica, Capcom and Nextech, 2000
- GameResident Evil 2, Capcom, 1998; remade 2019
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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