What a day! We’re still bustling through Resident Evil Requiem, Pokopia’s out today, and on top of that, Slay the Spire 2 is out in early access. And in the shadows of these giant releases, Slay the Spire 2 is doing particularly well. As I type this, it’s reached 177k concurrent players on Steam, and that number is still actively rising. That’s a new record for a roguelike on the platform, just weeks after Mewgenics smashed the previous record.
As reported by Eurogamer back in February, previously, Hades 2 held the crown for the highest concurrent player count on Steam for a roguelike at 112k players. The weekend of its launch, Mewgenics managed to surpass it, reaching 115k concurrent players.
Slay the Spire 2 is currently the fourth most-played game on Steam right now, behind Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Arc Raiders, and just ahead of Rust. It’s even doing better (at the moment) than Resident Evil: Requiem, which at the time of this piece had around 115k concurrents (though its peak is at 344k, considerably higher). I’m almost tempted to sit here refreshing the page just to see if it can get past 200k before I publish.
That’s a fantastic debut for this long-awaited sequel to the popular deckbuilder roguelike Slay the Spire which we called ‘Amazing’ at the time, and awarded a 9/10, saying: “Slay the Spire takes some of the best parts of deckbuilding games, roguelikes, and dungeon crawlers, and mixes them into a wholly new and extremely satisfying package.” Slay the Spire 2 is currently only available on PC for its early access period, but it seems likely to get console versions once it’s fully released.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Hot off the zombified heels of Resident Evil Requiem, a brand-new Capcom Spotlight is on its way today, promising updates on Street Fighter 6, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, Pragmata, and much more.
We’ll be gathering all the biggest moments and reveals right here as they happen, so be sure to keep checking back to see what exciting things Capcom has planned for the future! Oh, and be sure to let us know below what you are most excited for!
How to Watch the Capcom Spotlight March 2026
This newest Capcom Spotlight will debut today, March 5, at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm UK time. It is scheduled to run for roughly 30 minutes and will be available with subtitles for 13 languages.
If you’d like to watch the show with us, we’ll be hosting the Capcom Spotlight here on IGN.com and on the following platforms;
However, there is a good chance there are some surprises in store, and we could even get a glimpse at the future of Resident Evil Requiem since it just launched and has already surpassed 5 million copies.
Pokémon TCG is still red hot as we cross into the official 30th anniversary celebrations for the next 12 months. But there’s one card in particular that’s burning a hole in trainers’ pockets right now, and it’s driving a reignited interest in Phantasmal Flames.
Released on November 14, 2025, Phantasmal Flames is the second expansion under the Mega Evolution banner. Out of all 130 cards in the set, no other is hotter right now than the elusive Mega Charizard X ex 125/094 SIR (Special Illustration Rare).
It’s no surprise that fans want to get their hands on this gorgeous piece of art, with its roaring blue flames and high-contrast orange embers forming Charmander, Charmeleon, and base Charizard underneath.
It was designed by Danciao, the mind behind the stunning Brute Bonnet from Twilight Masquerade and Zekrom ex from Black Bolt. Combine his artwork with the fact that Charizard cards always fetch a pretty penny, and you can start to see why this card is so valuable to fans around the world.
According to official data from eBay, during Phantasmal Flames’ launch week in November last year, users searched for “Mega Charizard” more than “1,500 times per hour” on average – that’s around 36,000 searches per day.
Moreover, from November 2025 through to February 2026, according to TCGplayer, users were searching for “Mega Charizard X ex” around “400 times per hour”, and around 9,600 per day. The base non-SIR version (Mega Charizard X ex 013/094) is also the ninth most popular card sold on TCGplayer in the same time period.
You can look at even more recent Mega Evolution sets for examples as well, with the Mega Charizard Y ex – 294/217 from Ascended Heroes settling as another remarkably popular card, with market prices listing it at around $523.28 at the time of publication.
Phantasmal Flame’s Mega Charizard X ex 125/094 SIR is no exception to the rule of cool. This was one of the most valuable Pokémon cards of 2025, second only to the remarkably rare and beautiful Umbreon ex – 161/131 from Scarlet and Violet’s Prismatic Evolutions set.
But, despite all this, you may be asking yourself: Why is Mega Charizard X ex spiking now? Well, there are three likely main reasons for that.
The first reason is the classic ‘out of print’ threshold. Larger retailers, such as Target/Tesco, have begun to slow down on Phantasmal Flame restocks to prepare for the next set, and the secondary markets, like your TCGPlayers and eBays, are beginning to take over.
The next major reason is likely to be related to Pokémon Day 2026. With the big 3-0 anniversary birthday just gone by, collectors are likely buying up as many iconic Charizard cards as possible now to resell later for profit and play on the series’s nostalgia.
Finally, we always typically see a spike in Charizard cards around the Pokémon World Championships, held this year in San Francisco, California, from August 28th to 30th. Fans are likely buying the dip, driving the price up, in preparation for 6 months time.
Phantasmal Flames Boosters Continue to Rise in Value
Interestingly, Phantasmal Flames’ Elite Trainer Boxes did hit all time lows of $75 just a couple of months back, but are now back on the rise in popularity, spiking to $95.93 at TCGplayer most recently. That’s a +23.97% rise in just the past 30 days. It’s still far from its $175 high, but trending upwards again, nevertheless.
Jump on the ETB hype all you want, as it’s good fun. But, if you’re seriously hunting for your own Charizard pull, I’d typically recommend buying a single card from a reputable seller and holding on for more value gains over time.
With a pull rate of approximately 1 in 400 packs, according to Pulse Collective, you’d need 12 full booster boxes to statistically find just one Mega Charizard X SIR. The odds don’t seem particularly in your favor, if you don’t mind me saying.
But, if you’re lucky enough to pull this card (maybe go buy a lotto ticket as well), it’s a prime candidate for grading at sites like BGS Black Label, which could push its value to those six-figure numbers at key moments in the Pokémon calendar.
A new video game deal has joined the party that is Woot’s ‘Video Games For All!’ sale, and it’s one we called “an excellent comeback” in our review. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond for Nintendo Switch 2 is currently discounted as part of the Amazon-owned online retailer’s latest sale event, marked down to $54.99 (see it here).
Overall, this is a 21% discount from its original list price of $69.99, which means you’ll get to save $15 on it. If you have a Switch 2 and have been waiting to get your hands on the latest Metroid game, now is a great time to pick it up.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond for $55
It’s worth keeping in mind that this offer on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond may not be live for very long, so you’ll want to be quick to scoop it up. The store page states that the deal is live until the end of Woot’s sale – which runs until April 4 – or until it’s all sold out. So, it’s better to grab it now to make sure you have it at this discounted price before it’s all gone.
If you’re curious where we landed with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, IGN’s Logan Plant reviewed it and found quite a lot to enjoy in it. Giving it an 8/10, he said, “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is an excellent, if relatively uneven, revival that reaches heights worthy of the Metroid name in its best moments.”
Alongside Woot’s big video game sale, there are a few more gaming deals worth having a look at right now. PlayStation Direct’s big sale is still going on, until March 9, and offers great discounts on a variety of PS5 games, accessories, and more. Or, if you prefer to play on PC, Humble Bundle’s March Humble Choice is officially live, with a fresh selection of games to add to your online library.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Pokémon Pokopia is out today (hooray!), and if you somehow don’t have enough to do in that game already, there’s a limited-time event on the way later this month that will give you even more little tasks, items, and Pokémon pals, as it’s bringing Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff to the game. It starts next week, but if you don’t mind a little manipulation, you can just play it right now.
Per an official announcement, beginning March 9 at 1pm PT through March 24 at 12:59pm PT, you’ll be able to encounter Hoppip in Pokémon Pokopia, as well as collect a new “cotton spore” material. Cotton spores can be exchanged for picnic-themed furniture items, which you can then use to build habitats that will attract Hoppip’s evolutions, Skiploom and Jumpluff. The official announcement warns that you won’t be able to encounter these Pokémon outside the event, so you’ll want to make sure to play during these dates if you want them in your game.
What’s more, you’ll also need at least one rebuilt Pokémon Center in order to encounter Hoppip and friends. Rebuilding a Pokémon Center is an endeavor that can take a few hours of gameplay minimum, so you’ll want to get a jump-luff on that to make sure you don’t miss out.
But you don’t have to wait until March 9 to get started. If you open up your Switch 2 system clock and set it to a date and time within the event range, and you already have the finished Pokémon Center, Hoppip will just be chilling in your game right next to it. I managed to get Hoppip to appear in my game, and it sent me out to the Dream Islands to collect Cotton Spores for furniture. Be mindful that doing this can potentially muck with things in other realtime games, like Disney Dreamlight Valley and Animal Crossing, so it may be best to set it back to normal once you’re done and before opening any of those games.
In addition to the Hoppip event, those who purchased Pokopia early can get an in-game Ditto rug for free using the Mystery Gift function in the menu. The Ditto Rug is available until January 31 of next year so you’re not likely to miss out even if you wait to buy the game. And, as a heads up, you can get the Ditto Rug in-game without using this function too. This just gives you a free one much earlier than you’d otherwise encounter it.
The developer of Marvel Rivals has addressed what it called the “disturbing trend” of “incentivized throwing,” where players are enticed by third-party bounties to deliberately sabotage matches.
Fans of the hero shooter sounded the alarm when third-party site Intlist.org went live on February 22. Established by Marvel Rivals content creator and X/Twitter user EchoRivals, Intlist’s goal was to give players an avenue to name those who intentionally sabotage or “throw” multiplayer matches and “put a price on their head.”
“Put a bounty on griefers & throwers,” the first, now-deleted post on its X account read, promising a system that offered an 80% payout for those who successfully throw matches in retaliation. “Someone queues in, throws it back, gets paid.”
One Reddit user calling attention to the issue said they’d seen an increase in sabotaged matches for every kind of player, warning that “now every game is people throwing each other’s games.” The Intlist account replied to the criticism, insisting: “Collateral damage is an unfortunate reality of war.”
Now, in an official statement published to the Marvel Rivals Discord, NetEase threatened players who engaged with external bounties with a permanent ban.
Here’s the statement in full:
We have recently identified a disturbing trend within our community: “incentivized throwing,” where players are enticed by third-party bounties to deliberately sabotage matches. This behavior not only undermines the integrity of our game but also tarnishes the experience for honest players who are committed to fair competition.
In light of this, we want to make our position clear:
We maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy against any form of malicious disruption. To combat this issue, we are implementing a specialized investigation protocol focused on identifying and addressing negative gameplay linked to these external bounties. Accounts found to be violating our policies will face serious repercussions, including, but not limited to, permanent bans. We strongly advise players against jeopardizing their valuable accounts and hard-earned progress for the sake of temporary incentives.
Moreover, to reinforce the principles of fair competition, we have enhanced our regulations regarding negative gameplay. Accounts found to be engaging in disruptive behaviors, such as malicious idling (AFK) or intentionally throwing matches, will incur significant penalties following reporting and verification.
If you encounter players who are maliciously idling or intentionally throwing games, we encourage you to utilize the reporting feature immediately. Your reports are crucial and will be thoroughly investigated by our dedicated team.
Maintaining a positive gaming environment is a collective responsibility. Thank you for your continued support!
Intlist had already been pulled offline last month, promising “something big is coming.” At the time, EchoRivals claimed the site was locked down after they “detected unauthorized access to our database from a single bad actor.”
Today, March 5, EchoRivals posted in the Intlist Discord to say the website would remain offline “for the time being,” adding: “No ETA on when/if we will be back. This was my decision.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
We’re dumping the clutch on our March IGN First “cover story” effective immediately with Forza Horizon 6! As such, feel free to slide into the passenger seat and enjoy nine minutes of exclusive gameplay from the next instalment of Forza Horizon: the reigning heavyweight champ of open-world racing series.
This never-before-seen gameplay features a Saleen S7, an American turn-of-the-century cult supercar, being taken on a brisk journey through a portion of Forza Horizon 6’s Japan-based map. Moving from the south, you’ll be able to observe segments of rural, rolling countryside and a section of Tokyo itself before reaching the base of the mountains. We’ll have much more exclusive coverage of Forza Horizon 6 all throughout March as part of IGN First!
Forza Horizon 6 takes the acclaimed driving delights of the series and finally sets them loose on the distinctive roads of Japan. With more cars than ever on day one, a progression system inspired by the original 2012 Forza Horizon, and long-awaited tweaks to customisation, Forza Horizon 6 appears it’ll be barrelling into our homes with its foot flat to the floor. After you’ve checked out the exclusive gameplay above, check out the first developer gameplay overview, as well as our initial interview with the Playground team following the game’s announcement.
Forza Horizon 6 is coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC via the Microsoft Store and Steam on May 19, 2026, though it will be available with Early Access for Premium Edition players starting four days earlier (on May 15). It’s also coming to PlayStation 5 later this year.
Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.
If you’ve seen anything of the upcoming survival horror game Hellraiser: Revival, then you’ll know it isn’t for the faint of heart. Full of bloody violence, gruesome gore, and BDSM-themed sex and nudity, it’s a true translation of the pain and pleasure film series, which, despite all of these extremities, has managed to secure an ESRB rating.
Chief creative officer at Saber Interactive, Tim Willits, shared the news in a recent interview with IGN. “I can say that we have our ESRB rating, which was great, and we had to take nothing out for that,” he confirmed.
The fact that nothing had to be cut may come as a surprise to some. Of course, different ratings boards around the world weigh different aspects of mature games more than others. In the U.S. and Canada, the territories covered by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) are traditionally stricter when it comes to sexual content, something that Hellraiser: Revival certainly doesn’t shy away from — its opening scene is an extended sequence of sadomasochism involving hooks and other sharp objects. So, it’s somewhat impressive that the game has passed through with nothing needing to be taken out.
As for other regions around the world, that’s still very much work in progress for Saber. European ratings boards such as PEGI and the USK view graphic violence in a different way than America does, but are more liberal when it comes to the sexual side of things. Similarly, the Australian Classification Board is far stricter on games involving drug use, so it remains to be seen if just one version of Hellraiser: Revival will be able to be released globally, or if altered versions exist depending on where you live.
‘Oh my God, I can’t believe they did that.’ That’s the kind of emotion that we want to get out of people.
It’s something that Saber is exploring currently and feels confident about. “We’re working with all the other ratings groups now, and I think that we’re going to do really well,” said Willits. “It’s all context. It all fits with the IP. It is an artwork, and it is a mature game for mature audiences. We’ve stayed within those lines, and we’ve been very successful at moving the game through all rating boards.”
Willits and the team are not shying from the graphic side of the game either. “It’s an active goal for the team. Yes. You can actually say that,” Willits explained. “Because if you are familiar with the franchise, if you’re familiar with what Clive [Barker, Hellraiser creator] has done, it definitely pushes. And when we announced that we were making this, lots of people online were like, ‘They better do it right, they better not make some ‘whooshy’ game that’s all censored.’ So we’ve tried to embrace it as much as we can. I really hope that players, they’re kind of like, ‘What’s around the next corner? What crazy stuff am I going to see next? Where is this going to go? Oh my God, I can’t believe they did that.’ That’s the kind of emotions that we want to get out of people.”
Last year, we heard from Willits that Saber intended to push its M Rating as far as it could with the upcoming video game adaptation. In that interview with IGN, he said: “We are going to go as far as we possibly can, as far as the people that make rules will let us go.” Well, it looks like that’s exactly what the team has done, securing an ESRB rating long before we even know the game’s release date.
Having played a good chunk of Hellraiser: Revival at gamescom 2025, I can indeed confirm first-hand that the limits for what’s allowed in a video game are being stretched by this blood-soaked pain and pleasure fest, where internal organs more often than not end up becoming external ones. You can read my full Hellraiser: Revival preview here, where I called it “Resident Evil for sickos.” I stand by it, even following some of the gory sights I’ve seen in Capcom’s latest, Resident Evil: Requiem.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
Highguard, the free-to-play PvP raid shooter announced at The Game Awards last year and set to close next week, has released its final update.
Developer Wildlight announced that it would permanently shut down Highguard on March 12, but not before a “farewell tour,” which also just-so-happens to be the name of the shooter’s final patch.
Highguard launched on January 26 after almost no communication with prospective players between its December announcement and launch day. While Steam concurrents almost hit a high of 100,000, peak concurrents on Valve’s platform soon plummeted (neither Sony nor Microsoft make player numbers public). And though Wildgate was quick to address issues with the game, even adding a 5v5 game mode to counter 3v3 complaints, shortly thereafter, most of the studio was laid off.
Now, as the team issues its final patch, it thanked everyone who has and is still playing Highguard, writing: “Even though we are shutting the game down, we are excited to give our remaining players one last big update to keep you entertained over the weekend. Thanks again for playing with us. Enjoy!”
This final update adds a new Warden, a new weapon, account level progression, and a skill tree for those who want to get their final matches in.
Highguard ‘The Farewell Tour’ Patch Notes:
For our final patch, we’d like to thank everyone who has played and is still playing Highguard. Even though we are shutting the game down, we are excited to give our remaining players one last big update to keep you entertained over the weekend. Thanks again for playing with us. Enjoy!
Account Progression
You’ll now level up your account level just by playing the game. As you return to the lobby, you’ll gain XP, level up, and earn Skill Points to be spent on the new Skill Tree!
Everyone’s account will start at level 0, and goes to level 100.
Your first level acquired will reward you with 5 Skill points. Afterwards, you receive 1 skill point per level up until level 40 for a total of 44 points to spend. This allows players to choose up to two skill trees to max.
Skill Tree
The Skill Tree is designed for players to build out their upgrades in 4 distinct playstyles. Each branch has a variety of options for players to choose from, with 2 tiers of power on all small nodes. Here is a list of what each branch focuses on, along with a few examples.
Raider – for players looking to be unstoppable during Raids, along with some buffs and abilities focused on general combat efficiency.
Infiltration – while raiding, zipline further into the enemy base
Juggernaut – destroying a wall provides a short duration overshield
Spearhead – you receive a Domesplitter and a Thumper Charge when your Siege Tower rolls in
Harvester – for players who are looking to increase their Vesper gain and the power of their Warden Axe
Heavy Swing – you swing your axe with two hands, instantly destroying Vesper Nodes
Shatter Orb – destroy enemy soul orbs with your Throwing Axe or Regular Axe Swing
Field Crafting – Create Armor, Equipment and Raid Tools in the battlefield
Treasure Hunter – for those players who love to loot
Treasure Seeker – hidden chests can be found and opened at PoIs
Archaeologist – Can sell items to Trader Flynn
Artifact Mastery – Amulets have a bonus magical property when equipped
Protector – for players who enjoy defending and keeping the team together
Resonant Walls – reinforced walls are more durable
Unbreakable Armor – once every 2 minutes, armor loss is prevented on death
Vanguard – while defending your base, allies can spawn on you
You can unequip a skill easily, and you can Reset all your points at no cost by clicking the button at the bottom.
We’ve tuned the XP gain to be very fast so players can earn points quickly and enjoy the full spectrum of the feature.
New Warden – Koldo
Koldo was discovered on Highguard. A lost soul from long before the continent disappeared, trapped inside a suit of armor, he searches for answers to his past. Koldo uses the power of his soul to protect his allies.
Passive: Guardian Angel
Protect any friendly orbs around you from destruction.
Automatically deploy your shield when reviving allies.
Tactical: Soul Shield
Deploy a shield for you and your allies.
Ultimate: Battle Cry
Koldo raises a standard that creates a protective dome. He can pick up and carry the standard, and drop it again at will.
Being inside the dome gives allies faster health regeneration.
New Weapon – The Switchback
The Switchback brings unparalleled versatility, comfortably handling both close range and long range encounters. When used in hipfire, it’s a shotgun. Aiming down the sights will transition the weapon into a marksman rifle.
The name “Switchback” originates from its unique double-barrel design. You’re able to rapidly shoot twice before needing a rechamber, though you also can pace your shots to keep up a continuous stream of fire.
In the field, many Wardens have sought to wield the Switchback. Only a few have truly learned to master it.
Gold Versions
The Switchback has 2 gold versions that can be found in loot chests, or with Trader Flynn.
Basebreaker
Repeater
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
This article contains spoilers for Resident Evil Requiem.
Resident Evil Requiem is now in our hands and, as our review makes clear, it’s a massive success. But what’s next for Capcom’s long-running horror series? Resident Evil has settled into a release cadence over the last few years that alternates between new mainline entries and extravagant remakes. With the most recent remake being an overhaul of Leon S. Kennedy’s iconic Spain-set adventure,Resident Evil 4, the next one up on the docket is likely to be Chris Redfield’s co-op odyssey,Resident Evil 5. That would be interesting for many reasons, but to make matters more intriguing, one of Resident Evil Requiem’s third act plot reveals seems to hint at the ways Capcom intends to alter the series’ continuity in a hypothetical remake of the fifth mainline chapter. Let’s take a look at how Requiem may be quietly setting up a lore-altering remake of Resident Evil 5.
Big Spencer
Even people who have never played a Resident Evil game before have probably at least heard of the Umbrella Corporation, the nefarious pharmaceutical company behind many of the series’ biohazardous events. Who they’re less likely to be familiar with is Oswell E. Spencer, the founder and CEO of Umbrella. Although he’s rarely made direct appearances in the games, Spencer could arguably be considered the overarching antagonist of the entire franchise. The first game took place in his mansion, after all, and the series’ dense web of viruses, monsters, and shady villainous factions almost all tie back to Spencer in one way or another because of his initial work with bioweapons.
Resident Evil Requiem brings Spencer back in the spotlight, but in an unexpected way that recontextualizes his place in the Resident Evil universe. Where previous lore depicted Spencer as a megalomaniacal oligarch who wanted to remake the world using weaponized viruses, Requiem presents a more human side of this ambitious scientist.
In the game’s final act, protagonist Grace Ashcroft learns that her mother, reporter Alyssa Ashcroft, interviewed Spencer in his twilight years. As part of their meeting, Spencer explained that he’d been taking care of an orphaned infant – Grace herself – and gave her to Alyssa to raise. He also seemed to express genuine remorse for all the death and destruction he’d caused. Requiem doubles down on this idea with the twist that Elpis, Spencer’s secret final project that the villains have been seeking all game long, is not a new bioweapon like they believed, but in fact an antiviral agent that can cure infections caused by Umbrella’s viruses. In Requiem’s “good” ending, Grace realizes that Spencer wanted to atone for his actions by using Elpis to nullify the bioweapons he once created. She releases the antiviral into the world, and Leon is saved from his T-Virus infection.
The scene of Spencer and Alyssa’s conversation is remarkable because it managed to evoke pity and even a bit of sympathy from me for a character who I know is an egotistical madman responsible for numerous atrocities and millions of deaths. That’s the power of strong writing and voice work. But while making Spencer more sympathetic serves a self-contained purpose within Requiem’s story, the idea that he had regrets before his death carries huge implications for the series’ established canon, especially as it relates to Resident Evil 5’s place in the timeline.
Flashback Attack
Spencer made one of his few in-person appearances in Resident Evil 5, popping up in aflashback cutscene that featured him talking with another recurring series antagonist, Albert Wesker. Spencer is shown as an old man in a wheelchair, barely clinging to life while still espousing his eugenics-minded philosophy. He raves about how he had the “right to be a god,” and reveals to Wesker that he was part of a program designed to create superior beings whom Spencer was to be the master of. Wesker then kills Spencer, saying that he was “arrogant even until the end.”
This is Spencer’s canonical death, although this version of him is incongruous with the revelations in Requiem. But that might not be a problem if a Resident Evil 5 remake reworks this scene and Spencer’s role in the plot to fit with his newer, more regretful portrayal.
Spencer’s death in Resident Evil 5’s main campaign is merely part of a cutscene, but the sequence became more interactive with the Lost in Nightmares DLC. The expansion sees Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine battle Wesker shortly after he kills Spencer, with you fighting in the very same room he commits the deed in. Should this sequence be recreated and integrated into the main campaign of a potential RE5 remake, Capcom would have the opportunity to rewrite Spencer’s final moments so they line up better with Requiem’s reveals. This could be the first moment in the series’ timeline that our heroes learn of Spencer’s real feelings on his legacy. And with the DLC being one of the only parts of RE5 that mechanically feels akin to the franchise’s classic survival horror gameplay, it’s a prime candidate for a level that could be included in a remake that would, presumably, look to reformat the story to better suit the series’ renewed survival horror ambitions.
Capcom has already been fairly liberal with Resident Evil remakes making adjustments to previous continuity.
It makes a certain amount of sense for Capcom to do this, because this very scene has already been the subject of a retcon. The villains’ conversation sees Spencer claim that Albert was the only survivor of the Wesker program, but that turned out to be untrue when we learned about Alex Wesker, who was the main villain of Resident Evil: Revelations 2.
Capcom has already been fairly liberal with its Resident Evil remakes making adjustments to previous continuity. The first game’s remake introduced entirely new characters, the most notable being Lisa Trevor, the daughter of the Spencer Mansion’s architect. Umbrella used Lisa as a test subject, and her mutated body was the vessel from which William Birkin, one of the main villains of RE2, first harvested that game’s G-Virus. Resident Evil 2’s remake, meanwhile, adds a lot of flesh and nuance to characters like Ada Wong, Marvin Branagh, and Annette Birkin.
Most pressingly, Resident Evil 4’s remake ends with Ada stealing the dominant plaga sample (referred to as “the Amber”) and refusing to give it to Wesker, something that very much did not happen in the original game. Since Wesker’s work with Las Plagas created many of the threats present in Resident Evil 5, this alteration (as well as the reveal that Wesker recovered Jack Krauser’s corpse), hints that the context for how RE5’s monsters come to be will be different in the seemingly inevitable remake.
What Does This Mean For Resident Evil 5?
Recent Resident Evil games hinting that the events of RE5 will be different in the new continuity are pretty big clues that a remake of the fifth game is all but assured. While the remakes have been a largely successful creative endeavor, Resident Evil 5 in particular is an interesting subject for a remake. Both its mechanical and narrative relationships to the rest of the franchise are somewhat fraught, and a remake provides the opportunity to smooth over those discrepancies. I doubt that a remake would ditch the co-op campaign – one of the original version’s most beloved and foundational features – but the game marked the point where it was borderline impossible to argue that the series was still trying to be a survival horror game. Resident Evil 4 got away with the shift to a more action-heavy style because it revolutionized third-person shooting and was a masterclass in tension. RE5 doesn’t have the same pedigree and moved even further away from the atmosphere of the early games, something that could be rectified in a remake.
I say this as a fan of the fifth game: it could really use some serious changes. I have played through Resident Evil 5 somewhere north of 20 times, on multiple platforms and with many different co-op partners. It’s an excellent game to throw on with a buddy, and is easy to play as a casual hangout activity. That said, the series’ adherence to the “stop and shoot” mechanic, as appropriate as it is for the classic entries, is not conducive to the fast-paced two-person experience RE5 wants to be, nor is its incredibly primitive attempt at cover mechanics for specific encounters. A version of RE5 that uses the many refinements the franchise has made to its gameplay in the years since the original’s release would let it feel more fresh and dynamic instead of an awkward midpoint between Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War.
More substantively, the Resident Evil remakes have done a tremendous job of improving the franchise’s narrative credibility with stronger writing and more believable performances while not significantly altering the actual plots of each respective entry. Resident Evil 5 could use this more than most, both because it pushes RE4’s carefully considered campy tone a bit too far into maximalist absurdism, and also because the game did not do the best job of navigating the perils of being a horror game with an African setting. RE5 has been a subject of controversy for racial insensitivity since before it was even released, and while your mileage may vary on how big of a problem that is for you, it’s difficult to absolve the game of the accusation. Not even secondary protagonist Sheva Alomar being a heroic figure can eliminate how misguided some parts of RE5 are. It’s not that the story can’t be set in Africa, but the game’s middle chapters with plaga-infested tribal warriors could be easily swapped out for something that feels more in line with contemporary sensibilities.
No matter how Capcom decides to tackle a Resident Evil 5 remake, the alterations in these recent games indicate that the studio won’t be faithfully remaking RE5’s story. Quite how changes to Spencer’s legacy and Ada Wong’s decision will change the direction of any hypothetical remake is not yet clear, so we can’t yet say if such retcons will pave the way for Capcom to better align the game with the creative sensibilities of the modern era, or if it simply means the lore around its story will feature minor adjustments.
We don’t know what the next Resident Evil game following Requiem will be, but whenever the Resident Evil 5 remake does come together, it seems like it won’t be exactly like we remember it.
Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.
