GOG launches DRM-free Resident Evil for PC, with 2 & 3 to follow soon

GOG, a digital PC gaming platform and pioneer in game preservation, has announced that the original Resident Evil is now available for PC via its storefront. Not only is the PS1 classic survival horror title now open to a whole new audience, but Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis are on the way, too.

Capcom and GOG have joined forces in an effort to both preserve the original Resident Evil games and bring them to PC, a platform where they’ve never been available. You can buy the game on GOG now for $10/£8.99 and wishlist the next two classic titles, both of which will be available soon. This PC version of Resident Evil is as faithful to the original as possible, it also features some quality-of-life improvements and compatibility updates for modern systems. While I haven’t played it to confirm this, that should mean Barry’s infamous sandwich line has made the cut.

Relive that first zombie encounter nostalgia

As if the release of this survival horror classic on PC wasn’t enough, Capcom and GOG have teamed up with content creator and actor TheSphereHunter, better known as survival horror enthusiast Suzi Hunter, on a video covering the development process of bringing this title to PC. The video includes interviews with Adam Ziółkowski, GOG’s technical producer, and Bartosz Kwietniewski, the company’s head of development.

At the time of writing, the video isn’t live. However, if you keep an eye on Hunter’s YouTube channel and GOG’s YouTube channel, you should catch it once it’s premiered. It should be an insightful look at how GOG works to bring titles that got so many people into gaming to a wider audience and ensure they aren’t lost forever when physical copies degrade.

While we don’t have a release date for Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis on GOG, you can wishlist both games and ensure you’re notified as soon as they become available. There’s also a bundle available that will net you all the first game now and each subsequent release as they come to GOG.

I’ve been playing Resident Evil since the original was released on PS1, and I was terrified, more than anything, by every door opening and closing animation. While Capcom might have faltered with a few entries after Resident Evil 4, the series is in a great state with remakes and brand new releases.

If you don’t own a retro console or have the ability to access the classic Resident Evil games via console storefronts, though, these titles have been pretty inaccessible until now. It’s refreshing to see Capcom looking this far back in its catalog and working with the right people at GOG to ensure future generations and oldies like me can experience the games that started it all without them being remade or meaningfully altered.