An anticipated Resident Evil 4 remake has been quietly delayed following issues with the game's current developer according to a new report.
Yesterday was a big day for Capcom with its announcement of a Resident Evil Village release date. Resident Evil 4 marked a turning point in the survival horror franchise, switching from a fixed-angle camera to an over-the-shoulder camera and mixing up the gameplay. It might not seem like anything special today, but this was one of the first games to popularize the "over the shoulder" third-person shooter camera for modern gaming.
Capcom has not yet officially announced a Resident Evil 4 remake. However, a series of leaks were uncovered last year after a ransomware group reportedly captured more than 1 TB of files from the Japanese company. Leaks at the time said that the remake was expected to arrive in 2022, but a new report indicates that's no longer the case.
Why Was the Resident Evil 4 Remake Delayed?
The Resident Evil 4 remake was reportedly delayed for a reason that will be well-familiar to fans of another recent remake: the developer wanted to stay faithful to the original game.
Multiple sources speaking to VGC report that Capcom's newer studio M-Two was working on the project. This developer did a bit of work on the Resident Evil 3 remake, but its first major project was to create a remake of Resident Evil 4 and it had been reportedly engaged with the project since 2018.
Unfortunately, it appears that M-Two's role in the project has been scaled down. According to this report, Capcom was aiming for a direction closer to the Resident Evil 2 remake which changed some mechanics such as how Mr. X worked in the game. However, some players weren't too happy with the changes made in the Resident Evil 3 remake from the original —a notion that M-Two was apparently very conscious of.
The disagreement over the design of the game came to a head during a performance review late last year. Now, this report indicates that Capcom's Division 1 has taken over the project, ultimately pushing back the expected release date by a year.
When is the Resident Evil 4 Release Date?
The new Resident Evil 4 release date is now expected sometime in 2023. No other specific details have been announced and Capcom has yet to officially announce the project.
A reported delay like this is certainly disappointing to fans who may have been looking forward to enjoying this groundbreaking sequel. For now, you can buy the original Resident Evil 4 on sale as part of a franchise-wide sale at prices ranging from $4.99–$19.99 or your regional equivalent.
Are you disappointed by the reported delay of the Resident Evil 4 remake? Do you think the games should aim to be as faithful to the originals as possible? Let us know in the comments below!
