It’s hard to believe there was a time when Resident Evil felt like it was on its last legs. But instead, the long-running survival horror series has gone from strength to strength, brand-new instalments building on older stories Capcom is revisiting in remakes of its classic games. And it has now confirmed its upcoming Code: Veronica remake, Resident Evil Veronica, will include story changes to ensure it fits more cohesively into an overarching series narrative that has ballooned significantly since the original’s release 26 years ago.
That’s according to Resident Evil Veronica producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, who revealed the plans during a recent Summer Game Fest Q&A. As reported by Famitsu (and machine-translated by DeepL), Hirabayashi began his presentation by saying the development team – which was also responsible for Capcom’s acclaimed Resident Evil 2
When asked if the team was planning any story changes to strengthen Resident Evil Veronica’s connection with the series’ broader narrative, Hirabayashi answered in the affirmative, highlighting the fact that while Capcom has been developing remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4, the series has continued to extend across newer entries: Resident Evil 7, Village, and Requiem. As such, the newest remake is making adjustments to the original Code: Veronica’s story so players “can clearly feel these connections as a cohesive whole.”
Elsewhere, Hirabayashi revealed Resident Evil Veronica’s Summer Game Fest announcement trailer was a bit of a “trick” on Capcom’s part, intended to “create a surprise for everyone”. Specifically, the team chose to introduce its remake from a first-person viewpoint so it “wasn’t immediately clear whose perspective it was”. But following the trailer’s final crowd-pleasing Claire Redfield reveal, Capcom has confirmed Resident Evil Veronica will play out using a more traditional third-person perspective.
Hirabayashi also offered insight into why Capcom ultimately decided to drop the word “Code” from the original Resident Evil – Code: Veronica’s name. And we can expect plenty more information in the run-up to Resident Evil Veronica’s PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC release next year.