Next-gen Upgrade of Resident Evil 2, 3 And 7 Now Available [UPDATE #2]

Update #2

Capcom has given PC gamers the option to return to last-gen version of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 7 (without ray tracing and 3D sound). Many userd complained about significantly degraded performance.

Update #1

Next-gen updates for Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 7 are now available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S owners. On consoles, the patches introduce 4K support, ray tracing and surround sound, as well as smoother animation. The updates are also available for download on PC (the weight of the updates on Steam is about 21.5 GB for RE2 and 14.2 GB for RE3 and 46.5 GB for RE7). First user feedback is mixed - many people are satisfied, but some complain about the unstable animation, others on limited visual improvements. There are also sometimes problems with downloading the updates (usually restarting the console helps).

Original message

This March, Capcom announcedthat "next-gen" updates for Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 7 will first be released on PS5 and XSX|S consoles, and then on PC. However, it is possible that the improvements will be released simultaneously on all platforms. The Japanese are already preparing PC gamers for the updates and have provided new system requirements for the listed titles.

Resident Evil 2, 3 and 7 on PC with ray tracing and higher requirements

The information appeared in short entries on Steam on the tabs of the remakes of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 7. We can read there that after the update the games will no longer support DirectX 11 and we will run them only in DirectX 12 mode. Windows 7 and 8.1 (64-bit) will disappear from the minimum requirements, and will be replaced by Windows 10 and 11. We will also need more powerful GPU to play - at the moment the GeForce GTX 760 or Radeon R7 260X will suffice to run RE2 and RE3, but after the update, we will need a GeForce GTX 960 or Radeon RX 460.

Next-gen patches are expected to increase resolution and frame rates (on consoles) and add support for ray tracing and 3D surround sound to Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil VII. Capcom has not yet announced a release date for the update, but since Capcom Showcase will take place today, it's likely we'll get details then.

Here's a summary of all the changes to the minimum system requirements RE2, RE3 and RE7 PC.

If your hardware doesn't meet the new minimum requirements, you can disable the automatic update for both games on Steam. Here's a quick guide on how to do that:

1. In your Steam Library, right-click on the game title and select "Properties".
2. In the window that pops up, select the "Updates" tab, and then expand the "Automatic Updates" menu.
3. Change the "Always update this game" option to "Only update the game when it starts".
4. Before launching the game, press the left mouse button in the upper left corner of the Steam window, then select "Go Offline".

You must go into offline mode each time before launching the game, otherwise the update will automatically install itself. After the update, you will be unable to restore the previous version of the game.

1. Capcom - official website
2. Schedule for Pseudo-E3 2022 - Event List