According to an industry insider, Resident Evil 8 will have its worldwide release sometime in January 2021. However, this insider, a veteran Resident Evil leaker by the name of Dusk Golem, also cautions fans that the release date is not set in stone, and could be subject to change due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has messed up production schedules of video game studios everywhere.
Even if the global health crisis will affect the release of Resident Evil 8, though, that may not be the end of the world. If the market doesn’t improve, or the game isn’t finished in time, Dusk Golem says its release date will only be pushed back a few months, and should come out no later than February or, in a worst case scenario, March of the same year.
“I guess I can share this before a nap,” the insider announced over Twitter. “Resident Evil 8 was supposed to be released next January, to see if that holds true due to the change in workflow due to world Corona circumstances this year though. My guess is the release will end up being in the late January-March territory.”
Dusk Golem’s information seems to fit the patterns associated with this beloved video game franchise, whose most recent installments – including Resident Evil 7 and the Resident Evil 2 remake – also released in the month of January. Of course, since the game has been the subject of more rumors than pretty much any other upcoming title out there, it’s best to remain skeptical.
It’s believed that, once Resident Evil 8 comes out, it’ll be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC. Although many games, especially these days, are playable on different, rival consoles, it’s not every day that a title can be accessed on both an old and a new generation system.
See, while same-gen consoles are based on similar technology, new consoles are equipped with entirely different engines, making cross-compatibility a nightmare to achieve. A handful of games, like Konami’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Monolith’s Shadow of Mordor each received separate old and new-gen versions. However, the time required to make these versions ended up hurting the overall quality of both. Let’s hope Resident Evil 8 won’t suffer the same fate when it debuts.