The Original RE Trilogy Returns via GOG!
Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis are back on PC.
On June 26, in a surprise announcement, Polish publisher GOG (a subsidiary of CG Projekt, the developers of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077) revealed that the PC versions of the original Resident Evil, as well as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, were being re-released exclusively on the GOG Games storefront, and that the first game would be available for immediate purchase and download.
These GOG ports would essentially be the original late 90s PC ports with wrappers that provide compatibility updates for modern controllers, Windows 10/11 and current graphics rendering technology. Compared to other digital PC storefronts like Steam and the Epic Games Store, GOG Games is more niche, often focusing on promoting smaller titles and emphasizing the idea of game preservation through modern, but minimalist restorations of older obsolete software.
Game preservation refers to permanent access to any game software long after the hardware it runs on has been discontinued, typically through physical games media that does not require any online verification to run. On the digital front, it refers to software free of digital rights management (DRM). Software purchased on the GOG Games PC store is DRM-free, which means anyone in possession of the game file, regardless of how it has been acquired, can play the game as long as they have the right hardware and OS.
This news certainly came out of left field for most people. Much to the consternation of long time RE fans, Capcom has stubbornly refused to meaningfully remaster or restore the classic 1990s RE trilogy for almost two decades. Nearly a year ago in July 2023, I speculated why Capcom hadn’t re-released the RE trilogy for modern systems the same way they have done with other IP like Mega Man and Street Fighter. My favorite theory is that the 2002, 2019 and 2020 remakes of the first three RE games have replaced the originals in Capcom’s eyes, and given how well they sell, Capcom doesn’t seem to want to bother with the older, more archaic titles.
I still think many of my assumptions are still valid, even after this GOG announcement. For one, aside from some posts on social media, Capcom is hardly acknowledging these releases; no press releases (the bare minimum effort) or anything of that sort. Capcom themselves do not appear to be the primary publisher of these ports, with the GOG Games store listings showing “Capcom / GOG” as the publisher. As part of the GOG announcement, Resident Evil videographer and influencer The Sphere Hunter/Suzi recorded a video describing how these GOG rereleases came to be. Long story short, GOG seems to have done all the restoration work with only marginal oversight from Capcom. Suzi interviews the GOG developers in her video, and it’s absolutely worth a watch.
As for the original Resident Evil on PC itself, I’m quite happy with the result. It’s the original game merely updated to work on modern PCs, without having to deal with fan patches or pirated copies. I find that the low price of these ($9.99 each, or $24.99 for all three games bundled together) coupled with the lack of DRM and low hardware requirements are more than a fair trade off for the lack of availability on other storefronts, such as Steam.
Given that GOG developed these restorations, it remains to be seen whether the PC versions will eventually come to Steam, which would certainly ensure more sales in the long run. I think it’s possible, but it will take at least a year.
As for any further implications this may have on Capcom’s appetite to do more concerted rereleases of the RE trilogy in the future, I would imagine they’re keeping a close eye on how this initiative does. Should the interest be there, Capcom may finally decide to give fans the remastered original collection they’ve been wanting for years.
One thing I would like to see Capcom developer is a true definitive version of all the classic RE games that contain every feature and improvement from every rerelease. For the original RE, that would be a definitive version that contains all the extra content from each version of Resident Evil: Director’s Cut (Dual Shock and non-Dual Shock), the 1997 Saturn port, the 2006 DS port Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, and of course the PC-exclusive weapons and costumes, as well as the option for Japanese or Western difficulty and gameplay settings. It still seems like a pipe dream, but one can hope.
GOG PC releases of both RE2 and RE3 are set to follow later this year. I look forward to having modern, DRM-free access to the rest of the original trilogy. Maybe GOG can even convince Capcom to let them do Resident Evil: Survivor as well…