Less than three years after its initial release, it’s been announced that the disappointing multiplayer spin-offResident Evil Re:Versewill be shutting down in 2025. Originally launched in October 2022,Re:Versewas included as a free bonus game for owners ofResident Evil Village, but otherwise unavailable to purchase as a standalone game. Despite being intended to launch alongsideVillage, however,Re:Verse’s launch was heavily delayed after its initial beta tests, eventually releasing a year later alongside the game’s DLC expansion.
As announced by the officialRE_Gamesaccount on X,Resident Evil Re:Verseis set to be removed from digital storefronts on June 14, 2025, and willcompletely cease online services on June 29. This will end support for the game entirely, with no plans for further development or maintenance, andRe:Versewill not be playable in any official capacity after it goes offline on June 29. Consequently,Re:Versealso won’t be included for free with purchases ofVillageafter it and its DLCs are removed on March 3.
What Went Wrong With Resident Evil Re:Verse
Gameplay, Balance, & Monetization Issues Doomed Re:Verse From The Start
Despite ostensibly being a celebration ofResident Evil’s 25th anniversary,reception toRe:Verseon launch was largely negative, withplayers criticizing the game for gameplay issues, balance issues, a general lack of content, and being overly monetized, with a premium battle pass system and character skins sold as microtransactions.
It also didn’t help thatResident Evil Re:Versecan’t be purchased as a standalone game, and is only available as a package deal withResident Evil Village, which inherently limits the game’s playerbase. The game essentially took the form of a six-player hero shooter, with players able to choose between Chris, Claire, Jill, Leon, Ada, or HUNK, with the twist that players who were killed would mutate intoResident Evilmonsters.
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The game’s negative reputation at launch was only compounded by a lack of updates, leading to the game being mostly forgotten even among die-hardResident Evilfans - according toSteam Charts, from an already-low all-time peak of just over 2,000 players, the game’s audience has shrunk down to almost nothing, withplayers counts in the single digits. News of the game’s impending shutdown has presumably boosted the playerbase, but even then, it’s only managed to reach a 24-hour peak of 55 players.
This Is The Right Move For RE
PVP Games Don’t Fit The Resident Evil Franchise
While shutting down a game instead of trying to update or preserve it is generally a negative,PVP multiplayer has never quite worked forResident Evil.The series has mostly found its audience through strong single-player games, and where it has found moresuccess with multiplayer is mostly in cooperative experiences, as can be seen in games likeRE5andRE6. Notably, in terms of live-service, the more co-op focusedResident Evil Resistanceis still going, and the idea of turning theMercenariesmode into a standalone game is a popular idea among some fans.
Re:Versebecoming completely unplayable is anegative in terms of preservation, especially for any players who spent extra money on it, but the game itself is unlikely to be missed by many. Unpopular from the very start,Resident Evil Re:Verseis set to be removed from digital storefronts on March 3, and go offline on June 29, and the game’s failure will hopefully steerResident Evilaway from trying to focus on multiplayer- or, at the very least, result in a better multiplayer game in the future.
