Long considered the best pure survival-horror game in the series, Resident Evil 2 remains a fan-favorite to this day. Fans have been clamoring for a full-on remaster of Resident Evil 2 ever since the gorgeous remake of the original Resident Evil released on the GameCube well over a decade ago, but Capcom has not bothered so far, opting instead to release new games in the series that have been met with mostly lukewarm reception.

Since Capcom seemed like they were never going to bother putting out an official Resident Evil 2 remake, fans took matters into their own hands with Resident Evil 2 Reborn HD, an HD remake of the original PS1 game powered by Unreal Engine 4. The trailer for this unofficial fan game made significant waves last week, and Capcom is paying attention, as they have started gauging fan interest through the official Resident Evil Facebook page.

Their initial statement came from a representative of the Capcom R&D Division 1 department:

First off, we would like to express our deepest appreciation to all Resident Evil fans, for your passion, enthusiasm and continued support for the Resident Evil brand.

Enthusiasm for a Resident Evil 2 Remake is something we've been hearing from you over the years, and has drawn some recent attention in the media. However, as the team owns the RE brand, we're not certain how we feel about this approach, and would like to ask your honest and frank opinion about the “Resident Evil 2 Remake” and what the brand identity is supposed to be about?

This post has garnered over 17,000 likes and over 2,000 shares since it was posted on Facebook 13 hours ago. Then, someone by the name of H, also from Capcom R&D Division 1, followed up that post 10 hours later, thanking fans for their passion and support for Resident Evil, while also revealing that their boss asked them to make a "worth seeing game" for fans, stopping just short of an official Resident Evil 2 remaster announcement. Capcom has said that they plan to make HD remasters of triple-A games a priority, and Resident Evil 2 would certainly fit that bill, though it would require much more work than other games. This is because Capcom can't just slap a shinier coat of paint on it like they could if they were porting Xbox 360 or PS3 titles, but instead they would have to rebuild the game from the ground up much like they did with the remake of the original Resident Evil. The original Resident Evil remake is a testament to fans wanting a classic survival-horror experience, as Resident Evil HD Remaster has surpassed 1 million units sold after releasing on multiple platforms earlier this year. The success of Resident Evil HD Remaster has prompted Capcom to follow it up with an HD remaster of Resident Evil 0, due for release in 2016. Currently, Capcom is not the most well-liked company there is, thanks to debacles such as the neglect of the Mega Man franchise, the poorly-received Resident Evil 6, and the recent Street Fighter 5 beta issues, but if there's one thing they can do to win back fan admiration, it's finally making the long-requested Resident Evil 2 remaster.

The potential Resident Evil 2 remake has yet to have an official announcement made or anything of that nature, however, it now has more potential than ever before to actually get released.

Source: Resident Evil