When Capcom revealed Resident Evil 8 at the first PS5 Showcase event back in June, some were surprised that the game was exclusively coming to next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X, skipping PS4 and Xbox One. However, it seems as though plans have changed, and now those on current-gen consoles who don't plan on upgrading right away will be able to play Resident Evil 8 on PS4 and Xbox One.
This information comes frequent Resident Evil franchise leaker AestheticGamer, who has accurately leaked Resident Evil 8 news in the past. In the past, AestheticGamer stated that Resident Evil 8 was supposed to be cross-gen originally, but then Capcom decided to focus on the next-gen consoles. But now it seems Capcom has had a change of heart, as AestheticGamer can "100% confirm" that Resident Evil 8 is a cross-gen game, which presumably means it will be releasing for PS4 and Xbox One as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X. The announcement will supposedly come soon, and the game is aiming to launch at some point in the first half of 2021.
If Capcom is planning on announcing Resident Evil 8 as a cross-gen title, then the announcement could come as early as this weekend. Capcom plans on hosting an hour-long Resident Evil 8 showcase at Tokyo Game Show on September 27, so plenty more information on the game should be made available at that point.
As to why Capcom has apparently decided to backpedal on its plans to release Resident Evil 8 as a next-gen exclusive, AestheticGamer has alluded to the reason why in the past. While not stated in their latest tweets, AestheticGamer previously said that Resident Evil 8 on PS5 has development issues, ultimately causing the development team to scale back some of its ambitious plans for the game. And since they had to scale back anyway, the decision was made to also release Resident Evil 8 on PS4 and Xbox One.
Whether or not there's any truth to these claims remains to be seen, but AestheticGamer has proven reliable in the past. For example, AestheticGamer leaked the new Monster Hunter Switch games before they were officially announced, and also accurately leaked the Shenmue anime series. Prior to the Resident Evil 8 reveal trailer, AestheticGamer also leaked a number of details about the game, including its setting, characters, and monsters.
Even so, it's always best to take any unverified information like this with a grain of salt until it comes from an official source. And with Resident Evil 8's Tokyo Game Show event happening this weekend, confirmation could come sooner rather than later.
Resident Evil 8 is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.