Resident Evil 2 Remake Won’t Have Microtransactions, ESRB Rating Misinterpreted

Update: A verified Capcom artist has confirmed that there won’t be Resident Evil 2 remake microtransactions on a Reddit thread.

Whether or not Resident Evil 2 remake microtransactions will be included in the game is something that is a potential hot-button topic amongst fans. While Capcom hasn’t announced any sort of premium currency or in-game purchases for the RE2 remake, a line of text in the recently released ESRB rating is giving fans pause. In addition to the standard descriptors of the game’s rating, there’s a line that reads: “In-Game Purchases (PlayStation 4, Xbox One).”

Some have interpreted that line to mean that there’ll be microtransactions in Resident Evil 2 remake that will somehow affect the gameplay. However, if you take the time to compare that line with other games the ESRB has rated and take a second to think instead of jumping to conclusions, you’ll find this line likely means something else entirely.

To compare the line about in-game purchases in Resident Evil 2 remake’s ESRB description, I turned to another recently released game that has some confirmed upcoming DLC: Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight. P3D‘s ESRB description includes the line, “In-Game Purchases (PS Vita, PlayStation 4).” I know that there are no plans to introduce premium currency to this game and that any paid content would refer to the additional tracks or costumes that will be available for purchase and download. The in-game purchases refer to the fact that if you go to the System menu on the main menu of P3D, you can access the PSN store DLC menu while playing.

So, this establishes that the ESRB “In-Game Purchases” designator doesn’t necessarily only refer to what fans would consider purchases that would be “harmful” to the experience. That leaves us with the following likely scenarios that “In-Game Purchases” could consist of in RE2 Remake:

1. The costumes that come with Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition will be available for purchase in-game if you bought the standard edition.
2. The Resident Evil 2 Retro Soundtrack Swap that comes with the Resident Evil 2 Deluxe DLC Pack will be available for purchase in-game.
3. The bonus pre-order and Deluxe Edition guns will be available for purchase in-game.
4. All of the above.

Since Capcom hasn’t released any info that would point to another game mode that would use premium currency, I believe the above 4 scenarios are the most likely to occur. If there is by chance a raid mode of some sort, we may see microtransactions that only affect that mode, much like the implementation in Resident Evil Revelations 2.

As of now, though, with the information we have about Resident Evil 2 remake, there’s no reason to jump to the conclusion there’s any sort of premium currency or loot box-type microtransactions in the game.