Capcom’s Resident Evil 3 remake might feel like it released many months ago, but that’s just how time works in the midst of a global pandemic. In actuality, it’s only been three months and the game’s sales are not quite as hot as its predecessors.
In a three month period, Resident Evil 3 remake sold a not insubstantial 2.7 million units across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. However, compared to the series’ previous entries this generation – Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 2 Remake – sales numbers disappoint.
RE:3's 2.7m sales in 3 months are underwhelming compared to recent new RE games. In their first quarters:
RE:2 – 4.2 million (2 months+1 week)
RE7 – 3.5 million (2 months+1 week)
RE6 – 4.5 million (3 months)
RE5 – 4.4 million (3 weeks)Don't think COVID-19 is entirely to blame.
— Alex Aniel (@cvxfreak) August 3, 2020
In comparison, both prior Resident Evil games sold more units in less time than Resident Evil 3 remake. Resident Evil 7 sold 3.5 million units in 2 months and 1 week; Resident Evil 2 Remake sold 4.2 million units in the exact same timeframe.
The lower sales could be attributed to the game’s disappointing campaign, a single-player component that didn’t feel as faithful, polished or scary as its predecessors. Even with the underwhelming campaign, Capcom did pack in Resident Evil Resistance, a PvE multiplayer game that was far from perfect.
Capcom’s iconic survival horror series is set to continue into next-gen with the upcoming release of Resident Evil: Village. While originally set to be a cross-gen title, rumours have revealed that the game’s Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions have been internally canned due to performance issues.
