'Resident Evil 2 Remake' Release Date Revealed in Surprise E3 Announcement

Back in 2015, Capcom made a surprise announcement. It would develop a remake of the most popular game in the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil 2. It’s been almost three years and not only did fans get a peak at the newly updated graphics, but more importantly, there’s finally a release date.

Sony held its E3 press conference on Monday evening. After an interesting start premiering The Last of Us 2, the show transitioned into a cascade of trailers for new and upcoming games. In a night full of thrills, one of the biggest surprises was Resident Evil 2 Remake. Although it was a short clip shown, those watching got a taste for the graphics. We also learned that the game is launching early next year on January 19, 2019.

The trailer starts off from the eyes of a rat. That may seem random, but fans of the series will recall that rats were a key transmitter of the G-Virus in Resident Evil 2. As this rodent crawls around an area that just happens to feature an original PlayStation console, there’s a scuffle between a cop and someone else. Moments later, that someone else turns out to be a zombie who rips the poor police offers throat out with a gruesome bite. with that someone else happens to be a zombie who proceeds to rip out the throat of the poor guy. Finally, Leon Kennedy shows up and takes out the zombie with a headshot. The rest of the footage shows includes a few cutscenes from Resident Evil 2 along with the shadows of familiar characters like Ada Wong and Mr. X.

One thing is immediately clear: The graphics of the remake are high quality. They’re pretty much on par with Resident Evil 7, though the art style is noticeably different. It’s hard to tell from the footage whether the remake will stay totally true to the original. Capcom’s remake of the first Resident Evil was pretty faithful, through it also added some new areas and enemies. So it seems safe to say we’re in for something similar this time as well.

Resident Evil 2 Remake will release on January 19, 2019. No word yet on if it will be a PS4 exclusive.

Sony had a good showing with its E3 press conference, but Microsoft, EA, and Bethesda had their own interesting surprises. On Tuesday, it’s Nintendo’s turn to try and steal the show.