Capcom’s Latest Resident Evil Ports Now Require Internet Connection on iOS

Capcom has suddenly updated Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village on iOS, requiring each to now require an internet connection to play.

News of the update was first spotted by Eurogamer, which came across a thread on the iOSGaming subreddit. The thread urges users to not update any of the aforementioned Resident Evil titles on iPhone 15 Pro devices. On the App Store, the updates read, “Due to changes to the startup process, an internet connection is now required when starting this app”.

DO NOT UPDATE RESIDENT EVIL!!
byu/Hall_Such iniosgaming

Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village all launched with the ability to play the game anywhere, without an internet connection on iPhone 15 Pro devices. Currently, it’s unclear of why Capcom now requires users to maintain an internet connection to play its Resident Evil ports. Speculatively, it could be for DRM check reasons to avoid piracy. Alternatively, some Reddit users believe it may be for data backups.

It’s not uncommon for games these days to require an internet connection, even though there are not any core online components to the experience. However, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village arrived on iOS without the need for an internet connection to play. Understandably, many users with the subreddit thread have begun demanding a refund for their purchase.

News of this comes ahead of the release of Resident Evil 2 Remake on iPhone 15. The game was revealed to be coming to iPhone 15 Pro, and M-series iPads and Macs during WWDC 2024. Currently, it’s unclear of when the game will be released.

Recently, it was reported that Capcom’s ports of Resident Evil titles haven’t been the monetary success the publisher was hoping. According to recent estimates, Resident Evil 7 only sold around 2,000 copies since coming to iPhone 15 Pro on July 2nd. It’s also reported that Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 sold 5,750 and 7,000 copies on iOS.