Resident Evil 4 Remake's Merchant Has Probably Tanked His Credit Score

Three years after the Resident Evil 4 remake first dropped players back into its eerie European village, someone did some serious number-crunching with the Merchant’s receipts. The gravel-voiced retail legend appears to be in serious financial trouble. And not just a little–we’re talking trillions.

To mark the anniversary, Capcom (via IGN) shared an interesting set of global player stats, revealing just how much business has flowed through the Merchant’s shadowy operation. Over the past three years, players have collectively bought a staggering 39.9 trillion pesetas’ worth of weapons, upgrades, and gear. That’s an economy powered by shotgun shells, sniper rifles, and the occasional rocket launcher. But here’s the thing: Players didn’t just spend–they sold even more. Treasures like ornate crowns, eerie masks, and glittering butterfly lamps flooded back into the Merchant’s inventory, totaling a jaw-dropping 43.2 trillion pesetas.

So, with that math applied, it’s hard not to think of the Merchant deep in the red, sitting with a roughly 3.34 trillion peseta deficit. That’s what happens when you offer generous trade-in deals to millions of opportunistic players armed with pockets full of loot. The remake, much like the original Resident Evil 4, encouraged players to hoard valuables, cashing them in for devastating upgrades–like the forementioned rocket launcher, which can obliterate most bosses in a single shot for a hefty 160,000 pesetas. Turns out, those deals add up… just not in the Merchant’s favor.

And yet, despite his apparent financial collapse, the Merchant remains one of the franchise’s most beloved enigmas. You can almost hear him now asking what we’re looking for. Next time, when you find yourself at his counter, consider that you might finally have the upper hand. After all, when your favorite shopkeeper is trillions in debt, maybe it’s time to ask a different question: Who’s really getting the better deal?