As usual, yesterday’s Apple Event was pretty spiffy. Like it does every September, it focused on Apple Watch and iPhones. It’s the iPhones part that’s relevant here though. While showing off the capabilities of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, it was announced that two Resident Evil games will be coming to the App Store, the first time they will be available natively for smartphones. Don’t worry, though – they aren’t entirely limited to those exact two phones.
Resident Evil 4 will also be released for iPad and Mac, with Resident Evil Village also coming to iPad (it is already available for Mac). Your iPad/Mac will need an M1 chip or later for it to be compatible. Both games support cross-progression, though Village doesn’t have that feature when it comes to its Mac version.
Each game will deliver an experience that parallels what you’d get with the latest home consoles, and HDR support makes them more realistic than ever. There is support for a wide variety of game controllers (no specifics given, but presumably most USB-C or Bluetooth ones will be just fine) plus multi-touch with on-screen controls. Capcom’s RE Engine supports Metal, which allows it to create high-quality versions of both titles by taking advantage of Apple silicon and MetalFX Upscaling.
Resident Evil 4 follows Leon Kennedy six years after he survives the biological disaster in Raccoon City. He’s now reporting directly to the president of the United States, and is dispatched to an isolated European village to rescue the president’s missing daughter. What he discovers there, though, is a terrifying fervor beyond reason that grips the locals. This remake was first released in March 2023.
Resident Evil Village is set three years after the events of Resident Evil 7. Tragedy continues to befall the Winters family, and after their home is attacked Ethan heads to a creepy village to rescue his kidnapped daughter. While originally played in first-person mode, The Winters’ Expansion introduces the ability to play in third-person mode, as well as The Mercenaries Additional Orders and Shadows of Rose. Shadows of Rose is the game’s epilogue, set 16 years after the main game. The game was first released in May 2021.
Developed and published by Capcom, Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 will be released via the App Store later this year. They will be downloadable for free so players can test them out, then each has a single in-app purchase to unlock the entire game.
