Resident Evil 4 is one of the most influential games of all time. But, while many consider it as one of the best Resident Evil games ever - we had it at #1 in our rankings - the process of getting Resident Evil 4 made wasn't easy. Development on the game reportedly started in 1999 and up to four versions were produced before Capcom ultimately choose the one that went on to win critical acclaim and sell millions of copies over the years. Interestingly enough, one of the "alternate versions" went ahead and became its own standalone title, Devil May Cry, which later ended up becoming one of Capcom's best-selling franchises as well.

Having said that, you would think that Capcom would leave Resident Evil 4 alone. Remaking an iconic and award-winning title is a risky endeavor, especially after 2020's Resident Evil 3 Remake got mixed reviews. Not to mention, Capcom still hasn't fulfilled its earlier promise to release more DLC content for Resident Evil Village.

But, it appears that Capcom sees more pros than cons to a Resident Evil 4 remake, if the reports are to be believed. Word has it that Capcom wants to announce its remake of the 2005 title later this year, and the recent ransomware leak is pretty telling.

A report from Fanbyte's Imran Khan details how Capcom will take the rejected material from previous versions of Resident Evil 4 for the remake to make the game look "spookier". In particular, the report claims that Capcom will shift the time of the game's opening sequence to nighttime for a more horrifying feel.

As we've already mentioned, Capcom had the development team make several "drafts" of Resident Evil 4 during the game's development phase. One early build, in particular, was shown off as a demo at E3 2003. The footage showed the game's protagonist, Leon S. Kennedy, experiencing hallucinations caused by the monsters hunting him down. This particular sequence was ultimately scrapped from the final build, but it could make its way to the remake.

Delving deeper into the report, Khan claims that Capcom will expand on Resident Evil 4's side content, specifically, Separate Ways and Assignment: Ada. If we assume that the report is true, Resident Evil 4 will flesh out Ada Wong more, who hasn't been seen in a Resident Evil game in years although Wong was originally planned to appear in Resident Evil Village, as per the game's bonus content.

Finally, the report claims that Capcom tried to bring back Shinji Mikami, the legendary developer responsible for kickstarting Resident Evil, among other iconic Capcom franchises, in the first place. Unfortunately, Mikami reportedly declined due to his commitments at Tango Gameworks, which he founded after leaving Capcom.

Of course, as interesting as the report is, it's still not from Capcom, so take it with a grain of salt. However, as much as rumors in the gaming industry tend to take a life of their own, most are founded on some semblance of truth. Capcom may have been working on a Resident Evil 4 remake for years. In an ideal world, we might have already gotten an official announcement, but instead, COVID-19 happened and the negative reception to the Resident Evil 3 Remake forced Capcom to go back to the drawing boards.

If it's any consolation, Resident Evil fans did get some new content last year. In addition to Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 VR was also released as well as a more faithful live-action adaptation in Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Also, if you'd like to check out what Mikami has been up to, Tango Gameworks is scheduled to release Ghostwire: Tokyo on March 21.