Indeed, previously, Resident Evil 8 was meant to include Ada Wong (who debuted in Resident Evil 2) in its staff, but she was left behind. Why?

Resident Evil: Village‘s Trauma Pack includes a digital artbook. It revealed that Capcom previously planned to include Ada Wong in the game set in Eastern Europe. This pack can be yours if you acquire the Deluxe, Collector’s, or the Complete edition of the game. This is how you can get the artbook called The Tragedy of Ethan Winters… and without spoiling any details, let’s just say that yes, he does have a pivotal moment in the plot.

­„Early plans had a mysterious masked person that saves Ethan. This was going to be Ada Wong investigating the village, but this was cut due to several conflicting scenarios. An early plot point was to have Ada, disguising herself with a mask, help Ethan escape from his trial,” Capcom wrote about Ada. Interesting. At this point, we suspect that Resident Evil 9 will include her in the story. After this cut, it’s unlikely to be repeated!

Here’s the official overview of the Trauma Pack: „Years after the tragic events in Louisiana, Ethan has tried to move on. Rekindle the traumatic memory of his past with these items. [It] includes memorabilia such as the Samurai Edge weapon, the Mr Everywhere accessory, a screen filter, special safe room background music, and many more items to help dredge up Ethan’s past. [The] Pack includes: Samurai Edge – AW Model-01, Resident Evil 7 Found Footage Filter, Resident Evil 7 Tape Recorder Save Point,– Saferoom Music ‘Go Tell Aunt Rhody,’ Mr Everywhere Weapon Charm, Unlock Village of Shadows Difficulty, The Tragedy of Ethan Winters Artwork, The Baker Incident Report. The Unlock Village of Shadows Difficulty item makes this incredibly difficult mode immediately available. This is normally accessible after completing certain gameplay conditions.”

Here’s Ada.

Source: PSL