Leon S. Kennedy is back at it again. After years of rumours, the game is real, and a Resident Evil 4 remake release date is on the cards following an announcement at the PlayStation State of Play June 2022 Showcase. A remake of the 2005 original has been something of a badly-kept secret after Resident Evil 2 was remade in 2019, and Resident Evil 3 in 2020. Following a Capcom breach a while back, it's now official though, and we're here to compile all the details we have so far.
In this Resident Evil 4 remake hub, we'll go through all the key information we have so far on Leon's foray back to the mysterious European village. That includes the latest updates, its release date, as well as the story. It seems that Capcom is set to change some plot elements, which could tie into the slightly different continuity established by the Resident Evil remakes.
Elsewhere, we've got hubs on all the other hot releases. Check out our look at the Modern Warfare 2 release date to see exactly when we'll learn more about the upcoming Call of Duty game. That's on top of our GTA 6 hub and FIFA 23 beta guide for more upcoming releases.
Resident Evil 4 remake release date and launch platforms
The Resident Evil 4 remake is slated to release on March 24, 2023. It's confirmed to come out on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows via Steam.
As such, it seems that the Resident Evil 4 remake will be one of the first triple-A titles to make the leap to next-gen consoles only. Capcom has confirmed that an Xbox One version will not be releasing.
However, considering they didn't initially intend on releasing Resident Evil Village on previous-gen consoles, it doesn't come as too much of a surprise. If Capcom changes their release strategy and chooses to include previous generation consoles, we'll update this section.
Latest Resident Evil 4 remake news
With a week to go until release, the Resident Evil 4 remake review embargo went live today! You can check out our review of the game here. Spoiler alert: it's good!
Last night, the playable demo landed for Resident Evil 4 remake. You can experience the game's iconic village ambush sequence in all its glory, as a taster of the game with just a few weeks left to go until it releases.
A new gameplay trailer for the game landed at yesterday's PlayStation State of Play event. We got a new look at the boss fight with Jack Krauser, as well as a glimpse at previously unseen areas like the research lab and military area.
The Resident Evil 4 remake is just over a month away! If you want to read up on it, check out our guide on whether the game is coming to Nintendo Switch. We've also got a look at the best Resident Evil 4 weapons, as well as a Saddler boss guide.
Last night's Resident Evil Showcase provided tonnes of new information on the Resident Evil 4 remake. We were treated to a new cinematic trailer, alongside a more detailed look at the game in action.
The new footage focuses on the early-stage village section, with Leon battling biohazard-plagued villagers and the iconic chainsaw man. We also get to see a few new Plaga designs, with the game seeming to crank the survival horror tension up a little bit more.
Of course, we've still got the wacky action that made the original such a classic, with bosses like El Gigante and Ramon Salazar returning in next-gen form.
Nothing new to report yet, though Capcom announced a new Resident Evil Showcase while showing off the upcoming Village DLC. The Resident Evil 4 remake is confirmed to feature at the show, so we should get to see even more of the upcoming title.
Equally, Capcom confirmed that it was planning on bringing the game to PlayStation 4 at launch. That said, it didn't confirm anything about an Xbox One release.
The Capcom showcase took place last night, and the Resident Evil 4 remake was one of the key titles shown off. They played the State of Play reveal trailer to kick things off, before cutting to Game Director Yasuhiro Anpo and Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi.
They spoke a bit more about the story, confirming that the game takes place six years after the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes. Leon S. Kennedy has elevated to an agent working for the US President. That's when he's sent to rescued his kidnapped daughter Ashley, and the horror begins.
They also discuss the "completely redesigned" Ganado enemies, before a brief snippet of gameplay. The third-person perespective is back as expected, though we barely get to see Leon in action. You can check out the full Capcom showcase here. The Resident Evil 4 section starts at 55:49.
Not even a week after the game's announcement, and we already know when we're going to learn more about the Resident Evil 4 remake. The official Twitter account confirmed more detail will be shown at the Capcom showcase on June 13.
The Resident Evil 4 remake is finally official. After a few well-placed leaks prior to the June 2022 State of Play, the show opened with a two-minute teaser confirming the project's existence.
It showed the classic gothic European village we all remember from the 2005 original, as well as a look at Leon S. Kennedy, carrying over his facial redesign from the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake.
From there, we see a brief look at the plagued villagers roaming the town, as well as the now-iconic town square where the original game's shocking open sector took place.
Followed by a shadowy look at the main villain Saddler, the footage closes up by showing Leon making his way towards the opening hut, where his first encounter with the eponymous evil takes place. It certainly looks much darker than the original, that's for sure.
Resident Evil 4 remake gameplay and VR
Resident Evil 4 is widely considered the godfather of the third-person shooter, introducing the over-the-shoulder perspective that is so common nowadays. As such, we anticipate the remake retaining that perspective, despite Resident Evil Village being in first-person. Instead, it'll likely have the exact same gameplay style as the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes, with third-person shooting and survival horror elements.
Speaking of VR, the trailer also confirmed that the Resident Evil 4 remake will be playable on PSVR2. Details are currently slim on that side of things, aside from the fact that more information will appear down the line. That was alongside the good news that Resident Evil Village will be getting a PSVR2 release, letting you experience the horror of Castle Dimitrescu all over again.
Resident Evil 4 remake story changes and speculation
While the reveal trailer for the Resident Evil 4 remake suggests it'll quite closely follow the plot of the 2004 original, some things look like they may change. In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Capcom's Edvin Edsö says that they will be "reimagining the storyline of the game while keeping the essence of its direction."
What that means at this stage is currently unclear. However, in the trailer there's one main suggestion of how the plot could change. At the very end, Leon looks at a picture of the president's daughter Ashley Graham and laments "this time, it can be different."
If we had to guess, that's likely part of a new plot thread following on from the Resident Evil 2 remake. In that game, it ends with Leon, Claire Redfield, and Sherry Birkin escaping Raccoon City.
Considering Leon seems to have a certain loyalty to Ashley, it could mean that something happens to the other person he'd been tasked with protecting, Sherry.
Our guess is that the Resident Evil 4 remake will reveal that something bad happened to Sherry Birkin between Resident Evil 2 and this game, leading him to feel this increased duty to save Ashley.
Aside from that, though, the Resident Evil 4 remake will likely follow the same trajectory as the original. Expect classic faces like Ada Wong and Jack Krauser to return. If the recent Oculus Quest 2 VR release of the game is anything to go off, expect to see slightly less flirtatious dialogue between Leon and his handler Hunnigan, which were removed from that version to reduce the lewdness.
However, one thing that's unclear is whether the Resident Evil 4 remake will tie into other media coming out of the franchise. Back in July 2021, the Netflix show Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness picked up on Leon's excursions following the events of Resident Evil 4. If we had to guess, that likely won't align with the canon of this game, purely based on this being more recent.
That's it for our look at the Resident Evil 4 remake! Widely considered one of the best survival horror games of all time, this next-gen reimagining of the adventure is set to stamp a serious mark on the genre when it comes out next year. Just get ready for the horrifying Regenerador sequence all over again. It's going to be hellish.