Key Highlights:
- Apple announced Resident Evil 4 for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max during its September 2023 hardware event.
- The A17 Pro chip enabled Apple to bring native console games including Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village to iPhone.
- Capcom subsequently released Resident Evil 4 for iPhone, iPad and Mac on 20 December 2023.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is available natively on iPhone after Apple used Capcom’s survival horror remake to demonstrate the gaming capabilities of the iPhone 15 Pro.
Apple announced the port during its iPhone 15 Pro reveal on 12 September 2023. Resident Evil Village, Death Stranding Director’s Cut and Assassin’s Creed Mirage were also presented as examples of console-scale games coming to Apple’s hardware.
At the time, Resident Evil 4 did not have a confirmed iPhone release date. Capcom later launched the game for compatible iPhone, iPad and Mac devices on 20 December 2023.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max introduced Apple’s A17 Pro chip, its first 3-nanometre smartphone processor.
Apple described the chip as its largest GPU redesign at the time and specifically highlighted Resident Evil 4 among the console games supported by the new hardware.
Resident Evil 4 runs natively rather than through cloud streaming. Capcom uses its RE ENGINE across the existing console, PC and Apple versions, allowing the remake to expand to Apple’s hardware without becoming a separate mobile edition.
The original iPhone release required an A17 Pro-class device, making the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max the first compatible iPhones.
Capcom released Resident Evil 4 for Apple’s platforms on 20 December 2023.
The Apple version supports compatible iPhones alongside iPads and Macs using supported Apple silicon. The App Store continues to list the game for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, with later compatible iPhone models also supported. Capcom later added an internet connection requirement to Resident Evil 4 on Apple devices.
The release expanded Resident Evil 4 beyond its original PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC platforms.
For Apple, the announcement also represented a broader attempt to position high-end iPhones as devices capable of running games previously associated primarily with consoles and PCs. Capcom later expanded that strategy with more Resident Evil games coming to Apple devices.
Source – IGN
