Resident Evil 7 VR is "exclusive to PlayStation VR" for a year

We recently spoke to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard game director Koshi Nakanishi about the series' "switch to first-person VR," in which he described the first-person perspective as the "optimum" way to inflict horror on modern (read: jaded) gamers. Strapping the game directly to your face by way of a VR headset promises, in theory at least, to intensify the effect even further by injecting players directly into the unpleasantness. But it may be a much longer-than-expected wait before PC gamers get to sample the full experience. 

A Resident Evil 7 ad, recently seen on Facebook and posted to Reddit, states, "Resident Evil 7: Biohazard coming in 2017 and exclusive to PlayStationVR for 12 months." So while the game is slated to hit the PC alongside consoles in January, the VR version—which is presumably the one that Rift and Vive-equipped horror-heads will want to play—may not come our way until early 2018 at the soonest. And it may not come at all: "Resident Evil 7 Biohazard will be available for PlayStation VR at launch on 24th January, 2017," a rep said. "Capcom has not confirmed any other VR formats at this time." 

An ad for Batman: Arkham VR, noted by Kotaku, makes a similar disclaimer: "Exclusive to PlayStation VR until 31 March 2017." Unlike Resident Evil 7, Arkham VR hasn't been announced for the PC, but the PSVR exclusivity note might be a hint that it's coming. (It might also be nothing more than the casual tossing-around of the word "exclusive" that marketing departments like so much.)

It's possible that there could be some sort of marketing-speak twist ahead, similar to the way Titanfall was billed as a "console exclusive" even though a PC version launched alongside the Xbox One release. (Sorry, Sony.) But "exclusive to PlayStation VR" doesn't seem to leave much room to wiggle. Since Capcom has said all it's going to say for now, there's nothing left to do at this point but wait to see what transpires. I would suggest, though, that if you were planning on scooping up a Vive in anticipation of diving face-first into that Resi goodness, you might want to hold off. 

Thanks, Gameranx.

TOPICS
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in Resident Evil
Resident Evil Re:Verse
Resident Evil Re:Verse is reversing right off Steam, as Capcom claims it has served its 'original, celebratory purpose' despite mostly negative reviews
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
Terrifyingly good Humble Bundle deal nets you 11 Resident Evil games for less than the price of Resi 4 remake
Chris Redfield fights a zombie in 1996's Resident Evil.
I spent the last week roaming the Spencer Mansion and I'm here to tell you not to sleep on the new GOG release of 1996's Resident Evil
Resident Evil 7
Capcom announces the next mainline Resident Evil is in development, and the great news is it's being helmed by Resident Evil 7's director
Resident Evil 1 zombie
GOG is bringing the original Resident Evil trilogy back from the dead, and to digital PC storefronts for the first time
Box art for the original Resident Evil, showing a man with a weird face holding a shotgun.
A PEGI rating for the OG 1996 Resident Evil has me once again preparing to enter the world of survival horror
Latest in News
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam
Possibility Space concept art.
Possibility Space owners sue NetEase for $900 million over allegations it spread 'false and defamatory rumors' of fraud at the studio that ultimately forced it to close
Valve soldier man on a pc.
2024 was Steam's 'best year ever' of users buying newly released games—but I wouldn't celebrate the end of the forever game era just yet
Money money money.
Valve tracked 1.7 million Steam users who joined in 2023 to see if they stuck around—they did, and they spent $93 million
Closeup of the new Copilot key coming to Windows 11 PC keyboards
Microsoft co-authored paper suggests the regular use of gen-AI can leave users with a 'diminished skill for independent problem-solving' and at least one AI model seems to agree