After the announcement of Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake, a fan project known as Resident Evil 2 Reborn has been shut down. Italian game developers, InvaderGames, made the announcement on their Facebook page yesterday.
Far from the usual heartbreak story of fanmade games getting shut down, InvaderGames said in their statement they are excited for the new Capcom-led remake. They also announced that Capcom was incredibly polite, even taking the time to call them before making their official announcement to the public.
Capcom called us up in advance of the announcement and asked us if we would mind stopping the project as they had longer term plans for a Resident Evil 2 Remake. They have invited us to a meeting [sic] to discuss further ideas.
It’s not difficult to understand why Capcom would want to shut down Reborn. This wasn’t simply an issue of copyright; it would have been a game remake competing with another game remake. InvaderGames’ unofficial release would have been a free downloadable game, making it an undesirable competition for Capcom.
Any future projects for InvaderGames are currently up in the air. Though it’s uncertain if the team’s meeting with Capcom will bear any fruit, the fans will surely be chomping at the bit for both groups’ next announcements.
