Resident Evil's modern titles have reinvigorated the franchise with updated visuals and a refurbished gameplay style. Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village provided a unique first-person-perspective that was new to the franchise in its latest mainline entries, while remakes for Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 reimagined the classic tank-control games.
Now, Resident Evil's future looks prosperous with audiences of players who would love to see another remake of one of the franchise's earlier titles, such as the widely rumored Resident Evil 4 remake, or a sequel to the highly popular Resident Evil Village. In the meantime, however, Capcom has demonstrated a push toward current-gen platforms as its focus with an announcement that is sure to excite players.
Sometime later this year, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil 7 will be available with "visual enhancements" on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It is not stated when exactly they can be expected to arrive at current-gen platforms, but it will be a worthwhile wait for anyone who has not yet played them, or for fans who would love access to them on newer hardware. Further, anyone who already owns any of these Resident Evil games on PS4 or Xbox One "will be eligible for a digital upgrade at no additional cost."
Potential visual enhancements for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of these games could include ray-tracing, 60FPS capability, and much more. Additionally, it is clarified that upgrade patches for Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil 7 "will also be released for PC players at no additional cost." Of course, players who do not yet own a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S and only have access to a PS4 or Xbox One may still enjoy these games. But for those that do own current-gen consoles, this is a surprise treat.
It is unclear what the extent of "visual enhancements" may refer to, but it is likely that players should not expect structural overhauls to any of these three games. Some fans, for example, wonder whether this upgrade will swap the Chris Redfield character model from Resident Evil 7 with his more traditional-looking character model from Resident Evil Village in order to maintain consistency. Regardless, it will be interesting to see all the improvements that are added when these games' current-gen upgrades release this year.
Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil 7 are set to receive upgrade patches on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S later this year.