Resident Evil 8 Could Be Coming to PS4 and Xbox One, But There's a Catch

Ever since its announcement at PlayStation’s Future of Gaming event back in June,Resident Evil 8: Villagehas been rumored for release on current generation consoles alongside the already announced next-gen versions. While Capcom had not yet officially commented on the title’s potential release on the current-gen platforms before now,Resident Evil 8producer Tsuyoshi Kanda addressed the possibility of the game reaching PlayStation 4 and Xbox One today during the publisher’s first Tokyo Game Show panel, saying that Capcom is interested in bringing the game to the platforms, but that it would come at a major cost.

Up until now,Resident Evil 8has been one of the only next-generation exclusive third-party titles announced, as Capcom initially announced the game as a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X title, forgoing the cross-generational approach that is more common with third-party publishers in the early years of next generation consoles. This is because it can be risky for publishers to launch games exclusively on next generation platforms as the current generation platforms are owned by more players and next generation consoles generally take a number of years before sales hit their stride, something the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are already facing as pre-order stock is incredibly short.

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According to Kanda, the reason Capcom is uncertain aboutbringingResident Evil 8: Villageto current generation platformsis due to the game’s scope. According to the producer, “We’re looking into it, but we can’t make any promises. However, we will do our best in creating a top-tier survival horror experience on current generation consoles.” The implication here is that bringingResident Evil 8to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One would result in Capcom watering the game down to a considerable degree.

This lines up withclaims made by leakers that development on the game had originally started on PlayStation 4 and Xbox Onebut shifted to the next generation platforms as development started ramping up, with the publisher even potentially cancelling the planned PlayStation VR compatibility.

Given that fans anticipating the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have been disappointed that sometitles such asHorizon Forbidden WestandHalo Infinitemay be less ambitious due to their planned releases for current-gen platforms, Capcom’s explanation for whyResident Evil 8may not come to PS4 and Xbox One is rather refreshing. It seems the publisher is interested in releasing the most ambitious version of the game possible,while also leveraging the power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Regardless of this,Resident Evil 8may still see some sort of release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at some point in the future, be it on or after the next generation versions launch.

Resident Evil 8: Villageis planned for release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021.

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