Resident Evil 7 hits a surprising low with its latest release
These days, it seems hard for Resident Evil to put a foot wrong. After the cinematic overload of 2012's Resident Evil 6, Capcom's shuffling zombie series took some time away and came back with a bloody bang for Resident Evil 7 in 2017.
RE7 is rightly held as one of the scariest video games of all time, and if you've ever attempted to play it in VR, you're braver than we are. This back-to-basics horror approach continued into 2021's Resident Evil Village, while last year's Resident Evil 4 remake also cranked up the horror.
Resident Evil 7's mobile release flops
While RE4 tends to take the crown as the franchise's 'best' game, there's a lot to be said for Resident Evil 7 and its terrifying legacy. After originally releasing on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, it later (bizarrely) arrived on the Nintendo Switch in Japan. We'll admit that its latest release is even more unusual.
Resident Evil 7 recently dropped on iOS, and with mobile not being our typical way to game, it seems that's affected the title's sales. As reported by Appmagic (via MobileGamer.biz), 83,000 people have downloaded RE7 on iOS since July 2, but with under 2,000 sales, just 2.4% of players have converted from the free-to-start game.
This means Capcom has earned an estimated $28,140 from Resident Evil 7 on mobile, but remember, this doesn't include Apple's 30% cut. In comparison, the RE4 remake was purchased around 7,000 times, and Village comes in 5,750. This puts Resident Evil 7's mobile port dead last.
It seems that players aren't that shocked. Part of the pulse-pounding horror was turning off the lights and immersing yourself in the decaying crawl spaces of the Baker Ranch. That somewhat loses its charm when you're trying to play on your morning commute, packed into a carriage with others.
When the figures were shared on the r/Horror subreddit, it was clear that you aren't fans of this kind of port. One disgruntled gamer wrote, "Who tf wants to play a game like that on mobile of all things?!" Another joked, "Who would of thought a RE7 downgrade to iOS wouldn't sell... Implausible," and a third concluded, "I personally don't know anybody clamoring to play horror games on mobile."
Despite Capcom's recent push into mobile gaming, the RE7 sales prove that it could be flogging a dead horse. Apple has made a big deal about the iPhone 15 Pro Max being able to handle the grunt of AAA games, but we've already seen a mixed reception toward the RE4 remake and Village. Could RE7's iOS launch be another nail in the coffin?
