Resident Evil: Code Veronica is probably not the most well known of all the entries from the franchise, but it certainly has its dedicated fan base. Given that this was supposed to be the original third installment in the long-running horror series, it enjoys a semi-cult status, such that many fans would love to see this Resident Evil game be given a remake. Luckily, in this world of remakes and remasters, a small team of developers has banded together to do just that, and have recently released some footage from the project.
Posted to the modders' Ko-Fi page recently, a YouTube video shows the opening five minutes from this upcoming fan remake of Resident Evil: Code Veronica. The game is being made by three people, Matt Croft, Briins Croft and DarkNemesisUmbrella. In the teaser, it shows the start as seen in the original 2000 release, but obviously done in the more recent engine. Claire Redfield is seen inside the dank jail cell before being let out. The rest is play footage, and it certainly looks like an authentic modern RE game. At the time of writing, however, there doesn't appear to be any updates about a possible release date, but it has been mentioned in the past that it could be coming this year.
Back in December 2021, the team released a trailer for their Code Veronica remake, which is when it was announced that 2022 would be the proposed launch window. From what can be seen in the latest footage, the unofficial game will stick with the third-person perspective that's seen in the remakes of RE2 and RE3, and utilize Claire's model character from the former. This could cause some issues from a legal standpoint. Even though the game is being released for free, so no profit will be made, it's entirely possible that Capcom will not take kindly to the independent development team.
The big wigs are often vigilant about protecting its intellectual properties, coming down hard on fans who tinker with games unofficially. Last year, Take-Two sued fans over GTA 3 and Vice City projects, which were reverse-engineered to recreate the classic games from scratch, so this Code Veronica project could run into similar problems.
It will be a shame if Capcom does issue a cease and desist, but maybe it can slip through the cracks and give fans a huge amount of joy. With a Resident Evil 4 remake currently in the works, it seems the horror franchise is rife for modernity, and while this current project is unofficial, it's looking like it could be an interesting take on the 20-year-old survival game.
Resident Evil: Code Veronica was released in 2000 for Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and eventually PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Source: Ko-fi