Resident Evil 7's Free Upgrade Leaves PlayStation Fans Furious
PlayStation fans are angrier than Lady Dimitrescu when one of her daughters gets killed by Ethan Winters. While Capcom has made a big deal out of its new-gen Resident Evil upgrades for 2017's Resident Evil 7, 2019's Resident Evil 2 remake, and 2020's Resident Evil 3: Nemesis remake, it turns out this "free" gift isn't all it seems to be.
Despite it only being five years since we first met Ethan Winters and he was thrown into the horrors of the Baker Ranch, the industry has come a long way. If this had been Skyrim, we'd probably have had a remake and a Special Edition by now. Still, the promise of ray traced visuals, 3D Audio, and DualSense wireless controller support was a big draw for PlayStation owners.
Why Are PlayStation Fans Angry?
The giant Capcom live stream have us our first real look and the long-rumoured Resident Evil 4 remake and also confirmed the Shadow of Rose DLC for Village. Away from these major announcements, there was an update on the new-gen upgrades, as Capcom revealed they were going live that very day.
As reported by IGN, the new-gen Resident Evil 7 that comes as part of the PlayStation Plus Collection won't be getting the free upgrade. If you own a PS5 and have an active PS Plus Collection, you'll know some amazing PS4 games including Batman: Arkham Knight, Fallout 4, and Crash Bandicoot: The N. Sane Trilogy are all free. Capcom's terrifying survival horror is another big hitter, so the chance to play a new-gen RE7 was a major bonus.
Sadly, digital copies of Resident Evil 7 from the PS Plus Collection are not compatible with the free PS5 upgrade. The Twitterverse soon got ugly over the matter. One disgruntled gamer wrote, "Wouldn't expect anything less from Sony & PlayStation," while another added, "I’m p*ssed that I didn’t get a free upgrade to Resident Evil 7 through my PlayStation Plus version." A third concluded, "I could buy Resident Evil 2/3/7 from a second hand store, giving f**k all to Capcom and I'd still get the PS5 update free. So why the hell not PS Plus subs?"
Will Sony Make The RE7 Upgrade Free?
This means you'll have to actually buy the base game if you want Ethan and the Bakers to get a lick of paint. It's currently on the PlayStation Store for $20/£16, which is more than a bit of a kicker considering you can play the last-gen version for nothing other than the cost of your PS Plus subscription. This has happened before with the Final Fantasy VII: Remake. Last December, Sony gave you one version via PS Plus but locked the upgrade away.
Given the backlash against the RE7 upgrade debacle, there's a chance Capcom could reverse the decision. The PS5 version of FFVII was given to the masses, but it was only after Square Enix and Sony were royally shredded on social media. You'd have thought the gaming giant would've learned with RE7, but we guess not. In the meantime, you can upgrade Ethan's demonic debut if you've already paid for the Capcom classic.
