How would a Resident Evil 5 remake even work?

With Resident Evil 5 receiving a new ESRB rating, rumors of a potential remake are starting to circulate, once again. And while a Resident Evil 5 remake would be exciting for fans of that game, there’s still a rather problematic elephant in the room when it comes to a certain issue that plagued the original. 

Of course, the rating could simply be for a remaster of the game on modern hardware, or it could mean that Capcom is indeed pulling the trigger on a RE5 remake sometime after Resident Evil Requiem (RE9) releases. But if that’s the case, we have two important questions.

First, what would that mean for the rumored Resident Evil Code Veronica remake that has been reported to release in 2027? To many fans, CV was Resident Evil 4 before there was a Resident Evil 4, and it remains a very important chapter in the series timeline. 

Should a Code Veronica remake be first?

It’s since become somewhat of a forgotten chapter, and many fans (and even some video game writers) are too young to understand its significance, unless they’ve played it. Due to CV being set after RE3 and before RE4, it really should have been remade before the fourth game, but as RE4 is the most successful and critically acclaimed entry, it’s easy to see why that was prioritized. 

However, Resident Evil 5 is not as well-regarded as RE4. It represents a PR nightmare that Capcom likely wants to forget, so having Code Veronica and even RE0 waiting in the wings for remakes buys the company some time before it needs to consider a RE5 remake. Plus, Capcom is rather enjoying the success of REmakes, and probably wants to make as many of them as possible. 

Due to its position on the Resident Evil timeline, it really is now or never for a Code Veronica remake, and making one allows Capcom to make some more easy money. Plus, for the most part, the REmakes have all been excellent. Yes, we acknowledge RE3 was too short and cut way too much content from the original game. 

Is Resident Evil 5 too problematic for a remake?

However, if Capcom does decide to go all in on a Resident Evil 5 remake, then it risks resurrecting the race row that engulfed the original game. In 2009, RE5 was accused of perpetuating harmful stereotypes, with a caucasian protagonist serving as a sanctioned executioner. It was uncomfortable then, and it wouldn’t fly whatsoever in 2026. 

Capcom never meant for this to be the case, it was mostly trying to emulate the movie Black Hawk Down, but it still wasn’t a good look, and the accusations of racism have haunted RE5 ever since. So this begs the question, if RE5 ever got remade, what would it even be? Because they couldn’t just do the same thing again as they did with RE4.

Capcom would either need to completely reimagine the game, toning down or eliminating the content that made it problematic, or find another workaround, whatever that may be. A Resident Evil 5 remake could end up being a different game entirely, either told from the perspective of another character or retconned into oblivion in favor of a new set of events that don’t draw the same criticism. 

Or, Capcom could skip Resident Evil 5 and focus on remakes of Code Veronica, RE0, and maybe even RE1 again. As even if they remade RE5, what then, the much-maligned RE6? What about when they get to RE7? Isn’t that too recent to need one? The remakes need to conclude somewhere, and RE5 seems like it could represent the end of the line. 

But if you’re listening, Capcom, don’t forget about Dino Crisis.