Excitement quickly simmered to a boiling point as fans rejoiced in their excitement overcover art leaks which likely confirmed thatResident Evil 3 Remake is in development. Industry observers and fans alike speculated that theResident Evil 3 Remakewould be officially unveiled shortly thereafter, with The Game Awards being the obvious assumption. Unfortunately, The Game Awards' host, Geoff Keighley, has confirmed thatResident Evil 3will not be at the show, shattering high expectations.
On Reddit, Keighley stated, “Nothing about our show has leaked as of this writing” and thatRE3would not be at the Game Awards. Approximately ten new games are to be revealed at The Game Awards 2019, butResident Evil 3 Remakewill not be one of them since it was obviously revealed through leaks. However, this does not necessarily mean that the game’s unveiling will be delayed or that we will have to wait a long time.
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From a business perspective, there is much to speculate regardingResident Evil 3 Remake’s absence from The Game Awards. Obviously,companies typically do not enjoy leakssuch as this, as it compromises the potential to maximize the amount of buzz drawn, when the curtains finally open themselves for a big reveal. It is entirely possible that the game was originally scheduled to be revealed at The Game Awards, and could have been one of the main attractions at that. That is mere speculation at this time, though.
If that were to be the case, it would make sense to pullResident Evil 3Remake’s revelation from The Game Awards entirely, and saving it for another occasion when it can be revealed accordingly. This would avoid compromising the overall importance of its weight and as well as The Game Awards' overall impact on audiences. If that is the case, or even if it really was not planned for The Game Awards originally, that leaves spectators asking themselveswhenResident Evil 3will actually be revealed.
If they are planning to reveal the game soon as rumors indicate, the best option now may be revealing the huge game atthe State of Playstreaming show two days before The Game Awards. This would allow other titles to enshrine themselves on the podium of The Game Awards in all their potential glory, whileResident Evil 3Remakecan still boast itself to a very high degree on State of Play, separate from The Game Awards.
The next State of Play streams on Tuesday, December 10, where it is alsothe last episode of State of Play for 2019. This would provide ample room for Sony to portray the revelation ofResident Evil 3Remakeas a means of closing out the year. This would thereby be a great way to frame the game as one of the major defining factors of 2020 as it sits brightly on the horizon while spectators are moving onward into the new year. It would also give a a little bit of time for the dust to settle from the expected excitement to come, so that new reveals can fully enshrine themselves two days later at The Game Awards on December 12.
Furthermore, Senior Director of SIE Content Communications, Sid Shuman, just confirmed today that the final 2019 episode of State of the Play will include “around 20 minutes of new game reveals, release date announcements, new gameplay footage, Playstation Worldwide Studios updates, and more.” If games are confirmed to be revealed on State of Play, then that excludes them from beingrevealed for the first time at The Game Awardstwo days later. It would also lessen their steam and potential for buzz when they debut at The Game Awards, obviously. SinceResident Evil 3 Remakewill not be at The Game Awards anyway, it makes sense that this would possibly be one of the games that Sid Shuman is referring to in his confirmation that new titles will be revealed on State of Play.
While this is all speculative, there is also the possibility thatResident Evil 3 Remakewill not be revealed this year, as there are other factors to consider as well: Sony may want to let the buzz and excitement simmer down some more after the cover art leaks occurred. This would reignite the potential buzz which can be salvaged by surprising fans with a big reveal at a later date, but given the high levels of anticipation, this doesn’t seem likely.
In the mean ime, fans and industry observers will continue to speculate and critique the small glimpses of insight that can be derived from the leaked cover art photos, as well as speculate whatResident Evil 3 Remakemay offer players in significant changes. One of the cover art photographs shows Carlos standing side by side next to Jill Valentine on the cover. This is leading some to speculate that he may be a playable character or have his own alternative campaign to play.
Interestingly, one of thephotographs exclusively displays the Nemesis creature, with the label “Z Version"on it. There is the possibility that this could be an alternative game mode, or possibly a feature allowing players to take control of the Nemesis itself. All possibilities are on the table regardingResident Evil 3 Remake’s potential release date, gameplay, features, and how far along in the development cycle it is. Spectators will just have to wait patiently for four more long days of anticipation to see what December 10’s episode of State of Play beholds as it streams live at 6:00am Pacific Time.
