Capcom Hits 'Code: Veronica' Fan Remake With Cease And Desist Order

Resident Evil 2 Claire — Claire Redfield in the Resident Evil 2 Remake Capcom

KEY POINTS

Fan remakes of "Code: Veronica" and the first "Resident Evil" game were canceled by Capcom
"Code: Veronica" was close to releasing in early access before the takedown order was issued
The gameplay of both projects was made available on social media

A highly-anticipated, fan-made remake of the "Code: Veronica" spin-off of the "Resident Evil" series has been canceled after Capcom, the original IP owner, demanded the game be axed.

Development for the "Code: Veronica" remake, made by a passionate group of modders and programmers, officially ceased following the team's announcement in their Discord server. Briins Croft, one of the developers, said that Capcom sent them a letter ordering the project to be shut down.

The Japanese games giant cited U.S. laws in one of its emails to the developers in its attempt to have the "Code: Veronica" remake canceled, Dualshockers reported. The company further added that Croft and the rest of the team did not have permission to use the "Resident Evil" name or its characters.

The cancellation order arrived just when the remake was about to hit a major milestone. Early in November, the dev team announced that an early access version of the "Code: Veronica" remake was about to become available "in the next months."

"We want to announce an Early Access of #CodeVeronicaRemake
It will arrive in the next months, you will be able to play it with an approximate duration of 3-4 hours.
(…) There has been a lot of progress in terms of gameplay, and scenario modeling(…)" #ResidentEvil #FanRemake pic.twitter.com/tUmASvnkVh
— Resident Evil : Code Veronica REMAKE (@RECodeVeronicaR) November 1, 2022

Additionally, the cease-and-desist letter ordered the cancellation of the "Resident Evil 1" remake that the team was also actively developing.

The specifics regarding Capcom's demands were not revealed to the public. But fans speculated that it has something to do with the devs accepting donations for their work and their use of official character models.

Playthroughs of both projects are currently on YouTube, showcasing the lengths the developers have already gone to release modernized versions of the fan-favorite series entries.

RE2 RCPD — The zombified enforcers of the Raccoon City Police Department Capcom

"Code: Veronica" was released between the third and fourth "Resident Evil" games, and it featured Claire Redfield as its main protagonist. The remake was set to bring fans back to the zombie-infested prison on Rockfort Island, which has been reconstructed in the Unity Engine.

The remake also swapped the traditional static camera from the original game with the dynamic third-person action cam seen in the recently-released official remakes for the second and third "Resident Evil" games.

There's no indication whether or not Capcom will make an official "Code: Veronica" project. But with the upcoming "Resident Evil 4" remake on the horizon, the chances for fans to relive Claire's standalone story seem to be very slim.