Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 have both been rated for modern consoles by the US Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) in recent weeks, fuelling speculation about possible remasters or ports in the works. For now, Capcom has stayed silent about these discoveries, but that hasn’t stopped discussion about the return of these games, and whether they could be in for the remake treatment.
The first rating spotted was for Resident Evil 6, one of the more controversial entries in the franchise. Its lean into action over horror has been a point of contention for many years, with it being regarded as one of the lesser entries in the Resident Evil series, as a result. Still, there are plenty who adore this game and have fought for a critical re-evaluation – so there’s likely to plenty of excitement, should it be re-released.
As noted by VGC, the title appeared on the ESRB with a new rating for a mystery “Xbox Series” release which so far, hasn’t been announced by Capcom. Notably, the game is already available on this platform via an Xbox One port, so it’s unclear why a new “Xbox Series” version has been rated.
That could mean enhanced graphics or remastering, or other changes not already included in the game’s last gen re-release. Of course, the potential re-release could be as-is, but then it remains unclear why a new rating would be needed.
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The newly-spotted ESRB listing for Resident Evil 5, as reported by Gamespot, is also listed as being for Xbox Series, with very similar details, compared to the Resident Evil 6 listing. The summary of the game is as you’d expect: it contains references to mutated humans, realistic gunfire, gore, coarse language, and more.
Beyond this, there are few clues about what exactly the Xbox Series version of the game will include, and whether it will indeed be a remaster, remake, or re-release.
Notably, Capcom has taken a relatively scattered approach to its Resident Evil re-releases over the last few years. While it has released full-blown remakes of RE2, RE3, and RE4, the first game is yet to receive similar treatment (it was last remade in 2002, and remastered in 2015), and Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 have only been lightly remastered in the last generation.
So far, Capcom has stuck to fully remaking the most critically-acclaimed entries in the series, with new versions of 2, 3, and 4 revamping these tales for modern audiences with refreshed graphics, tweaked plots and gameplay, and a more streamlined approach to exploration. Since the remake of Resident Evil 4 released in early 2023, there’s been much speculation about what’s next, and how Capcom will continue its modern remakes.
While it appears unlikely the re-releases for Resident Evil 5 and 6 will be full-blown remakes, there is still a chance – and should that be the case, there would likely be plenty of enthusiasm about their return. Both games are flawed, but remakes have the potential to help them realise their complete vision, and given the excellence of past Capcom remakes, they would certainly be appreciated.
For now, the mystery ESRB ratings are all we have to go off, so we’ll have to stay tuned to see if there’s anything meatier waiting to be announced by Capcom. There’s likely much more to come on these ratings, so stay tuned.
