Capcom’s famous survival horror series Resident Evil is no stranger to upgrades. Receiving remakes and remasters as early as 2002—long before the current trend of cross-gen video game facelifts came to fruition—nearly every game in the Resident Evil lineage has been reworked or retooled in some form. Recently, the publisher confirmed that ninth-gen-ready versions of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil 7 will be appearing on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X later this year.Initially announced on March 2, Capcom confirmed that enhanced versions of some of their most recent efforts in the series are currently in development. Though the publisher has yet to divulge a concrete release date, these updates seem likely to drop within the next few months. These enhancements will include ray tracing options, an improved frame rate, and 3D audio and haptic controller feedback implementation on PlayStation 5. Ray tracing was available on the PC version of Resident Evil Village, which debuted in May 2021, and graphical fidelity aficionados will be pleased to know that Capcom continues to make use of the technology.These enhancements will be totally free for those who’ve already purchased Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil 7 on console or PC. The only caveat seems to be that those who own physical editions of these games will need next-gen consoles capable of reading disks in order to play these games. Additionally, any DLC for these games will be carried over with no additional charge, though series fans are likely far more focused on new information concerning potential DLC offerings for Resident Evil Village.
Microsoft fans will also be able to make use of the Xbox Smart Delivery system, the Smart Delivery system of course being a feature that's notably absent from PlayStation consoles. On PC, the upgraded versions of the three Resident Evil titles will simply be available via an update to the already-existing listings on digital storefronts. Plus, while brushing up a set of titles that aren’t particularly aged may seem strange, Resident Evil fans should find the publisher’s continual focus on the series to be heartening.
2021’s Resident Evil Village continues to perform well in terms of sales, surpassing the five million mark in January. That said, though it had a four-year head start, Resident Evil 7 still leads the pack with a total of ten million copies sold as of October 2021. Resident Evil 7 righted the RE ship after the underwhelming Resident Evil 6 soured fans’ perceptions of the series back in 2012. Ultimately, with praiseworthy sales figures and continued support from Capcom, it’s safe to say that the storied survival horror series is in a very good place at the moment.
Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil 7 will receive enhanced upgrades later this year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.