Update, 2/11/2025, 8:44 a.m. ET: It has since been spotted that the ESRB listing for the Xbox Series version of Resident Evil 5 actually dates back to February 2025, which can be confirmed through Internet Archive. Oddly enough, several other listings for Xbox Series versions of Resident Evil games have also been uncovered, including Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil Revelations, and Resident Evil Revelations 2. All of these ESRB pages materialized at some point between January and February 2025. Although the Xbox One releases of these titles are backward compatible with Xbox Series consoles, that wouldn’t necessitate the need for the ESRB to create separate pages for them.
The strangest part of this is that the ESRB Ratings Process page states that digital “games and apps rated via the IARC process do not have Rating Summaries,” yet the Xbox Series Resident Evil ESRB pages in question do. As a publisher has to submit a questionnaire to the ESRB to have its game rated, it would seem that Capcom specifically requested that physical Xbox Series versions of these games be rated. Either this was a mistake on Capcom’s behalf, or some kind of bundled physical release of these games is still in the works. Either way, this means that, unfortunately, a remake of Resident Evil 5 is no more real today than it was a week ago.
Original story follows.
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board may have just inadvertently spoiled the reveal of Capcom’s next Resident Evil remake, as an Xbox Series page for Resident Evil 5 has just appeared on the ratings board’s website. While the listing on the ESRB’s website doesn’t mention a PlayStation 5 version, the timing is especially suspect, as Sony just announced a State of Play livestream for February 12. For context, Resident Evil 4 Remake was revealed during a State of Play in June 2022.
The ESRB page for the Xbox Series version of Resident Evil 5 is relatively sparse as far as new information is concerned, but there is one small piece of info that points to this being a full-blown remake: the “In-Game Purchases” tag.
Capcom is a fan of dropping microtransaction-esque DLCs for their modern games at release, such as Resident Evil 4 Remake’s “Treasure Map: Expansion” DLC and Dragon’s Dogma 2’s much-maligned “Portcrystal” DLC. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ports of Resident Evil 5 contain all of its previously released DLC, and launched before Capcom’s obsession with MTX-style launch DLC. This alone implies that the version of Resident Evil 5 on the ESRB’s website may indeed be a remake.
The ESRB page also lines up with this post from Eva La Dare, who voiced and mocapped Sheva Alomar in Resident Evil 5, on X last month. “Got a few fun things lined up for March. Stay tuned!❤️ #residentevil30thanniversary,” reads Dare’s post. Curiously, it also features the hashtags “#residentevil5,” “#shevaalomar” and “#RE5.”
Funnily enough, the post was refuted by leakers, who seem to be adamant that the next Resident Evil project after Resident Evil Requiem will be a remake of Resident Evil – Code: Veronica. Hopefully, Thursday’s State of Play will help clarify things, as the likelihood of the ESRB’s listing being a mistake is relatively low.
