Of course, the franchise has seen many changes ever since the original Code: Veronica launched in 2000. The recent remakes have retconned a decent amount, and that’s not even getting into the events of Resident Evil Requiem. But don’t worry – producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi told Famitsu (translation via IGN) that it’s accounting for all this in the remake.

“With Resident Evil Veronica, we are planning to restructure the story so that players can clearly feel how all of these titles are part of one cohesive series.” That includes changes made in Resident Evil 2 Remake, but he added that, “What’s most important for the development team at Capcom is putting the players’ memories first, and then rebuilding the game on top of that.”

If you haven’t played Code: Veronica, then it’s not exactly required for the remake. That said, Hirabayashi believes “you will enjoy it even more if you are familiar with the stories of other games in the Resident Evil series. So I highly recommend playing any past titles that you haven’t played yet.” So there’s your homework for the coming months.

Resident Evil Veronica is out in 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. While it doesn’t have a release date yet, rumors claim it could arrive in the first half of the year. It’s directed by Yasuhiro Anpo with Kazunori Kadoi as the associate director – both familiar for their work on the Resident Evil 2 and 4 Remakes. And while it’s in third-person just like the original, you can expect the game to feel more like the former.

And once again, much like Requiem, this is without pre-orders being available or any gameplay footage. The reveal trailer was mainly in first-person and served more to highlight Claire Redfield’s return to the spotlight than anything else. Also, Hunk, if that is indeed who we think it is.

Thankfully, Capcom has spilt further details to media outlets that attended Summer Game Fest. First off, it’s still in third-person, but the game feel will be more akin to Resident Evil 2 Remake, so more over-the-shoulder than fixed angles. Claire is also described as being changed by the Raccoon City Destruction Incident, though you shouldn’t expect her to be a superhero or anything.

And while “Code” has been dropped from the name, producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi said you should consider the names of other Resident Evil titles like Village and Requiem. Essentially, Veronica is now considered more of a mainline entry than the original release, so the naming has changed to reflect that.

There’s still plenty of time to learn more about Resident Evil Veronica, which launches in 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Between showcasing Chris Redfield, Albert Wesker and the potential return of Steve Burnside, fans are in for a busy couple of months.

She hasn’t had too long to train since her escape from Raccoon City in her previous canon appearance, a facet that the original game seems to have neglected when you think back to how agile she was in the opening hour. However, that’s being addressed. “In a short span of three months, Claire isn’t able to become an agent of the government or anything like that. The experience has changed her in some ways, and she has some training from her brother Chris.”

Aside from a more measured take on Claire, complete with a solid visual overhaul of her character model, the remake’s also looking to give us a better version of the story, making it more in line with the franchise’s established canon rather than a standalone adventure. “We respect the original, but I’ll ask you to think about the titles of recent Resident Evil games, such as Village and Requiem.” Hence why the team dropped “Code” from the title.

We’ve had some thoughts about what Veronica is bringing to the table, and the fact that Capcom is finally giving it the reverence it deserves isn’t lost on us. Of course, Hirabayashi maintained Capcom’s penchant for being as mysterious as it can be when it comes to concrete details about its upcoming projects, but we’re hoping to see changes that make the narrative fit well within the larger framework of the franchise’s lore after Requiem. How it manages to do that is anybody’s guess at this point, but if there’s any studio that can get it right, it’s Capcom.

We don’t have a concrete release date for this one yet, but it could very well come out before the end of this financial year, which could mean a launch by March 31st, 2027 at the latest.

She’s subsequently detained by a strange individual, who may very well be Hunk, before we see some quick snatches of the different environments. And don’t worry – the classic zombies of yore return in all their flesh-hungry glory.

Resident Evil – Code: Veronica has always held a special place in fans’ hearts. It was the fourth Resident Evil title before the official “4” and followed Claire Redfield after she escaped from Raccoon City to find Chris. It would lead to her capture by Umbrella and escape from Rockfort Island, dealing with all kinds of horrors.

Along the way, she learned more about the Ashcroft family, their role in the company’s founding and more. But more importantly, it was the first game in the series to feature fully rendered 3D environments. There’s also Steve Burnside, and really, the less said about him, the better.

With Albert Wesker and the HCF allegedly featuring more prominently, and apparently no cut content, Resident Evil Veronica could reach the same heights as its predecessors. It’s coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.

That said, there are terms and conditions. “What I’ve heard is Resident Evil Code Veronica in general is just a bit expanded, nothing is cut, some stuff heavily remixed (I hear it’s the Remake with the most things changed or happening differently than you may remember, but every enemy, location, major event, is there and much even expanded).”

That change also encompasses Chris Redfield. If you’ll recall, he kind of just…appeared in the original game out of nowhere. Since this will mark his younger self’s first appearance in the RE Engine remakes, his role has been expanded. However, he won’t be as prominent in the finale with the remake.

“Chris’s stuff is going to end earlier than it did in the original game, him having his own final boss fight with Wesker (now as a boss fight rather than a cutscene) much earlier in the story, get severely injured, leaving Claire to take over for the last part and final Alexia boss stuff.” This is in line with earlier reports about the latter having a larger role and being treated as the main character.

If there was any trepidation about the remake, despite the insane run that the series has been on for the past several years, fans can apparently rest assured. Kazunori Kadoi and Yasuhiro Anpo, who directed the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, are reportedly at the helm of Code: Veronica Remake.

In the meantime, we’ll likely see Resident Evil Requiem’s story DLC launching first, maybe even this year. It’s supposedly focused on Leon S. Kennedy, with Ada Wong potentially playing a role.

However, it does have more content for The Outer Worlds 2 (including two story DLC), further updates for Grounded 2 (which is in early access and already a hit) and new games “big and small” in the works. Despite Avowed also failing to meet sales expectations, Obsidian is planning more titles in the same universe.

Which is interesting because it takes place in Eora from Pillars of Eternity. I doubt that Pillars of Eternity 3 is on the cards – even if director Josh Sawyer would really like to make it – but that doesn’t mean it can’t deliver other experiences. Perhaps we’ll see a return to the isometric CRPG goodness of the first two games, except with a much larger budget.

With four projects allegedly in the works, it’s tough to guess, but Obsidian is going to keep busy regardless. For those who haven’t experienced Avowed, it’s coming to PS5 on February 17th and even received a permanent price drop to $50. Check out our review for more details and whether it’s worth playing.

“They’re not disasters. I’m not going to say this was a kick in the teeth. It was more like: ‘That sucks. What are we learning?’” said Urquhart. Meanwhile, Grounded 2 emerged as a fairly sizable hit (and based on its latest big update, The Toxic Tangle, it’s only gotten better).

As a result, Obsidian is re-evaluating how it develops games, or as Urquhart says, “Think a lot about how much we put into the games, how much we spend on them, how long they take.” One such step is to reduce development time, targeting three to four per game, as opposed to the six-plus that Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 necessitated.

“I don’t think anybody really likes five-, six-, seven-year dev cycles. We’ve kind of grown into that,” says Brandon Adler, who directed the latter. Comparatively, Grounded 2 was developed in just two, and it wasn’t even on the cards until Eidos Montreal pitched the same back in 2023.

While Obsidian could look at outsourcing more work in the future, you likely shouldn’t expect it to release three titles in the same year again. “Spacing those releases helps the company manage its resources and not burn everybody out. It’s not good to release three games in the same year. It’s the result of things going wrong,” says Pentiment director Josh Sawyer.

As for what’s next, Obsidian Entertainment is reportedly working on four different unannounced projects. With rumors of a Fallout: New Vegas remaster circulating, there’s hope that it could return to the iconic RPG. In the meantime, it still has more updates for Grounded 2 and will bring Avowed to PS5 on February 17th.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Wildlight Entertainment CEO Dusty Welch admitted that, “We didn’t do a great job with our trailer. We own that.” But was revealing it at The Game Awards the right decision?

“That’s an incredibly fair question, and it’s one I ask myself quite a bit. It’s one that I’m going to continue to ask myself for a period of time. If we are wildly successful, I will still ask myself that because I’m interested in the business side and how we communicate to players and press. And was that the right way? Was there a different way? Was there a better way? And I don’t know the answer to that yet today,” said Welch.

“The toxicity is challenging, and it’s debatable whether we would’ve had more or less or the same by doing the Game Awards. I don’t know, and we’ll never know the answer to that. But I think that that’s an angle that has to be considered going forward for anyone in game development.”

Following its launch last week, Highguard debuted to a not-at-all-bad 97,249 concurrent players on Steam. That number has since dropped significantly – the latest 24-hour peak hasn’t even broken 13,200 players. It also didn’t help that it received a “Mostly Negative” rating at launch for performance problems, server queues, bugs, and more.

Things have slightly improved, as Highguard now sits at a “Mixed” rating, but just barely, with 42 percent of the current reviews recommending it. The core gameplay has been heavily criticized (check out our review), with many complaining that the maps feel too large for 3v3 play and that gathering Vesper would be more enjoyable if there were PvE rather than mining.

While Wildlight has outlined a roadmap of content for the year, including new Wardens, bases, maps, and weapons, it suddenly dropped an experimental 5v5 playlist for the weekend. Perhaps it’ll become a staple if it proves popular enough.

After pre-orders went live on the PlayStation Store, many were quick to observe that Avowed costs $49.99 for the Standard Edition and $59.99 for the Premium Edition. Even Indiana Jones didn’t receive a price drop on PS5, so what gives? Should anyone who bought it on Xbox Series X/S or PC feel insulted?

As it turns out, this isn’t simply a PS5-exclusive offer – Avowed has permanently dropped in price on the Xbox Store and Steam. Granted, this may prove little comfort for those who bought it at launch, but alas. On the bright side, now is a good time for new players to jump in, especially with the Anniversary Patch out on February 17th to coincide with the PS5 version.

The patch adds New Game+, a new weapon type, Photo Mode, more race choices when creating your Envoy, and much more. New Game+ also doesn’t just carry over your progress while presenting higher-level foes – it also adds nifty little modifiers to them to change up your tactics.

For more details on the base game, check out our review.

During an interview, gameplay director Gabriel Paramo and lead character artist Dimitri Berman also provided new details on the upcoming Anniversary update. Releasing alongside the PS5 version, it adds New Game+, with the character’s progress carrying over into a new playthrough. There are some caveats, like weapons resetting to level 1, for example.

However, you will encounter new challenges, including modifiers on enemies that confer resistances, among other unique twists. Other features in the update include Photo Mode, additional character presets, a new weapon type, new races for the Envoy, and more. It follows several other improvements added post-launch, including Arachnophobia Safe Mode, new abilities (especially for some of the lacking classes), and more.

For more information on Avowed, check out our review here. We gave it an eight out of ten, praising the lore, storytelling, characters, combat, level design and side content. The downside is that it may feel a little too safe, and those seeking a Baldur’s Gate 3-like experience – or something as intricate as The Outer Worlds 2 – may be disappointed.