While Capcom has yet to officially announce anything, it’s one of the worst-kept secrets in gaming that a Resident Evil 4 remake is in the works. In the past, we’ve heard from reliable sources that the new RE4 is in development at M-Two Inc., the new “second-party” Capcom studio headed Platinum’s former CEO Tatsuya Minami that developed the Resident Evil 3 remake. Well, it seems that may have changed.
According to a new insider report from Video Games Chronicle, development of the Resident Evil 4 remake has gone through a major shakeup, with M-Two’s role being significantly reduced. Capcom’s core Resident Evil development team has instead taken a leadership role. As a result of this change, development of the new RE4 has been at least partially rebooted and probably won’t arrive until 2023.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this story is why Capcom opted to demote M-Two. Apparently, M-Two were dedicated to making a largely faithful one-to-one remake of Resident Evil 4, particularly after some fans reacted negatively to the fairly significant changes they made to Resident Evil 3. Surprisingly, the RE head honchos at Capcom were not happy with this, as they favor a more radical reinvention, with new mechanics, story elements, and environments.
I’m not terribly surprised to hear about M-Two’s demotion – while I liked the Resident Evil 3 remake a lot, general reception was a lot more mixed, and you want your A-team on a project as important as Resident Evil 4. It is unexpected to hear that Capcom is looking to significantly revamp RE4, I’d think they’d treat it with kid gloves, but I suppose fortune favors the bold. Of course, take all this with a grain of salt for now, but the folks at VGC have a strong track record, and this all sounds plausible enough.
So, what are your thoughts on all this? What approach would you prefer Capcom take with Resident Evil 4?
