There's a kind of good news that doesn't make much noise. No countdown clock, no trailer breaking the internet. But if you own a Nintendo Switch 2 and you like being scared, today might be the nicest Friday on your calendar. As of October 16, Capcom's three modern Resident Evil remakes run natively on the console.
I want to do three things here: show you what you're actually buying and what it costs, describe how the early reviews and tests say the ports behave, and tell you the order I'd buy them in. One honest note first. I haven't played these on a Switch 2 myself. Everything below comes from Capcom's announcement, Nintendo's eShop listings and reviews and performance tests published this week. The opinions are mine.
In Brief
- Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition launch digitally on Switch 2 on October 16. Capcom's September 10 press release lists physical versions for January 29, 2027.
- US launch prices run through November 7: $29.99, $19.79 and $39.99. Regular prices are $39.99, $29.99 and $49.99, so all three cost $89.77 now against $119.97 later.
- RE4 Gold is the fullest package, with the Separate Ways campaign and The Mercenaries. RE3 is the slimmest, and it doesn't include Resident Evil Resistance.
- All three target 60 fps. RE2 is the smoothest in the tests I read, RE4 is the most demanding, and two reviews of RE4 disagree on how much it dips.
- Downloads are about 14 GB, 13 GB and 29 GB. Saves from the old Cloud Versions don't transfer.
- My take: buy RE2 first, RE4 second, and let RE3 wait.
What's actually launching today
Three games, sold separately, all digital for now: Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition. Capcom's press release gives October 16 for the digital versions and January 29, 2027 for the physical ones. According to Nintendo's listings, they're single-player, play in TV, tabletop and handheld mode, and carry an M rating.
Capcom's own framing is worth a quick look. The press release says Resident Evil 2 alone has passed 20 million units worldwide, and it describes bringing major games to new platforms as a way to widen its audience. I read that as a company saying out loud that Switch 2 owners are a market it wants, not an afterthought. We'll come back to that.
The receipt
Here's the math laid out like a receipt, because that's honestly how I think about launch week. These are US eShop prices as listed this week, and they can change, so check the store before you buy.
Launch prices run through November 7, 2026. Nintendo's US listings end the sale at 11:59 p.m. Pacific that day. Capcom hasn't announced a bundle of the three, so each one is bought on its own.
Two things jump out at me. First, the discount is almost the same flat amount on every game, about ten dollars. That's a small nibble out of RE4 and a big bite out of RE3, which is why RE3's $19.79 looks so tempting on the shelf. Second, there's no combo deal, so the sensible move is to decide which of these you actually want rather than grabbing all three because the sale feels urgent.
Three games, three case files
Same series, three very different purchases. Here's each one as a short file. Review notes come from what I could read: Nintendo Life's scores as summarized by VGTimes, TechRadar's take as summarized there too, and Nintendo World Report's own review of RE4. Performance notes come mostly from GameWatcher's tests of all three ports.
- Price
- $29.99 at launch, $39.99 regular. About 14 GB.
- In the box
- The main game, costumes for Leon and Claire, three deluxe Samurai Edge handguns, the original-version soundtrack swap, and the extra survivor modes VGTimes lists.
- Reviews
- Nintendo Life gave it 9 out of 10, praising clear visuals and stable performance in both play modes.
- The port
- GameWatcher calls it the smoothest of the three: a 1080p target docked and handheld, with DLSS upscaling, 60 fps most of the time and no stutters or long loads worth mentioning.
- The catch
- No ray tracing and no gyro controls, per Nintendo Life.
- My call
- Buy firstThe best mix of polish, price and a tight, scary game.
- Price
- $39.99 at launch, $49.99 regular. About 29 GB.
- In the box
- The main game, the Separate Ways campaign, The Mercenaries, plus costumes, two deluxe weapons (Sentinel Nine and Skull Shaker), a soundtrack swap, a treasure map expansion, attaché cases and charms, per Nintendo's listing.
- Reviews
- Nintendo World Report gave it 9 out of 10. The reviewer enjoyed it and still wondered whether the original is tighter, and described Separate Ways as about half the length of the main story and a fun add-on.
- The port
- GameWatcher says it aims for 60 fps and regularly hits it, but dips into the 50s with occasional stutters, plus some DLSS artifacts in dense foliage, mostly in handheld. Nintendo World Report found it very stable in both modes, with 60 fps docked, some distant enemies updating at 30 and an internal resolution of about 576p upscaled to 1080p.
- The catch
- It's the heaviest port, and the two reports above don't fully agree. GameWatcher also says motion controls appear only in this game.
- My call
- Buy secondThe most game per dollar of the three.
- Price
- $19.79 at launch, $29.99 regular. About 13 GB.
- In the box
- The main game, Jill's Classic costume and Carlos's Classic Hair costume. Capcom's lineup page says Resident Evil Resistance is not included.
- Reviews
- Nintendo Life gave it 6 out of 10 and suggested waiting for a sale, even though the port runs well. VGTimes summarizes the complaints as a five-to-six-hour campaign, Nemesis showing up mostly in scripted scenes and a missing Clock Tower. TechRadar called it smooth but thin on story and puzzles.
- The port
- GameWatcher thinks it may be the best-looking of the three, with a 1080p target and 60 fps in normal play. It can dip during busy set pieces and cutscenes.
- The catch
- The complaints are about the game, not the port. Those criticisms were raised against the original remake too.
- My call
- WaitFine port, short game. I'd want a deeper discount.
How they run, in plain English
If you only read one paragraph about performance, make it this one. All three games target 60 frames per second, and every report I read says they mostly hold it. The difference is how hard each game leans on the hardware. RE2 is the oldest and the easiest on it. RE3 is a bit more colorful and demanding. RE4 is the one that makes the console work, which is why it's the one reviewers argue about.
That argument is interesting. GameWatcher noticed dips into the 50s and some stutters in RE4. Nintendo World Report spent about half its time in each mode and called performance incredibly stable. Both can be true. Different areas, different tolerance, different eyes. I wouldn't treat either as the final word, and I'd rather tell you they disagree than pretend one of them is wrong.
A few smaller things worth knowing before you download:
- Resolution is the trade. GameWatcher says all three target 1080p with DLSS filling in the gaps, and that it works harder in handheld mode. The smaller screen hides most of the softness.
- HDR is worth the effort. GameWatcher calls it an easy recommendation for dark games like these, though Capcom's brightness calibration is a little odd and may need tinkering.
- Motion controls are RE4 only, per GameWatcher. Nintendo Life notes RE2 has no gyro.
- Load times are friendly. Nintendo World Report praised fast loads in RE4, and GameWatcher saw no long loads in RE2.
The storage bar
Switch 2 owners tend to count gigabytes the way people count carry-on bags, so here's the whole trio against the console's built-in storage. Nintendo's listings give 14 GB, 13 GB and 29 GB. Switch 2 ships with 256 GB, and the system takes a slice of that.
That's modest by modern standards. If you do run low on space later, Nintendo's listing notes that Switch 2 only works with microSD Express cards, which is easy to miss if you're carrying over a card from the original Switch.
Four situations, four answers
Most buying advice assumes everybody is the same person. You're probably not, so here are the four situations I'd guess cover most of you.
It's the best-reviewed of the trio in what I read, the port is the smoothest, and $29.99 is an easy first step into the series.
You get the main campaign plus Separate Ways and The Mercenaries for $39.99 until November 7.
GameWatcher says DLSS works hardest in handheld mode, and RE4 shows the most artifacts there. Nintendo World Report was happier with it, so try one before you commit to all.
Capcom says saves from the old cloud releases can't be transferred, and I found no upgrade discount announced for cloud owners.
What Capcom hasn't said yet
A launch day always leaves a few blanks. These are the ones I couldn't fill from Capcom's announcement or Nintendo's listings. I'd rather name them than guess.
- What's on the physical cartridgeCapcom lists January 29, 2027 for physical versions. I found nothing saying whether those hold the full game or just download it, so I wouldn't plan your storage around either answer.
- A bundle of all threeNone announced. Both GameWatcher and HowToVideoGame point out there's no discounted pack.
- An upgrade deal for Cloud Version ownersNot announced, as far as I can tell.
- Official performance targetsI didn't find Capcom publishing resolution or frame-rate numbers. The figures in this piece come from reviewers' own testing.
My buy order, and why this launch matters
Here's the ranking, with the reasoning in one line each.
- 1Buy nowResident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition · $29.99A 9 from Nintendo Life, the smoothest port in the tests I read and a game that's still scary. If you only spend $30 this weekend, spend it here.
- 2Buy nextResident Evil 4 Gold Edition · $39.99The biggest package by far. I'd buy it before November 7 to get the launch price, and I'd keep an eye on how it holds up in handheld.
- 3WaitResident Evil 3 · $19.79A 6 from Nintendo Life and a short campaign. The port isn't the problem. I'd wait for a lower price before I called it a bargain.
Now the part I actually care about. For a long time, owning a Nintendo console meant accepting that some of the big third-party games would show up late, trimmed down or streamed. Today feels like a small turn in the other direction. Capcom is putting three of its best-known games on the machine in a form you can carry on a train, and the early reports say it mostly pulled it off. Capcom's release also puts Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2 on December 4, which tells me this isn't a one-off.
I'm optimistic about that, without getting carried away. A port that holds 60 fps is a good start, not a guarantee of anything else. But if you've been waiting for a reason to feel that your Switch 2 is a first-class place to play, this is a better reason than most. For more on what's coming to the console, our complete Switch 2 games list keeps track.
Quick answers
When do Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 come out on Switch 2?
October 16, 2026, as digital downloads. Capcom's press release lists physical versions of all three for January 29, 2027.
How much are Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 on Switch 2?
US regular prices are $39.99 for Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition, $29.99 for Resident Evil 3 and $49.99 for Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition. Launch prices of $29.99, $19.79 and $39.99 run through November 7, per Nintendo's US listings as reported this week.
Are these the old Cloud Versions?
No. Resident Evil 2 and 3 were on the original Switch only as Cloud Versions that stream from a server. The Switch 2 editions run on the console itself.
Which Resident Evil remake should I buy first on Switch 2?
My pick is Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition: it has the smoothest port in the tests I read, a 9 from Nintendo Life and the lower of the two good prices. Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition is the better pick if you want the most content.
What does Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition include?
The main game, the Separate Ways campaign, The Mercenaries mode and a pack of costumes, weapons, charms and other extras, according to Nintendo's eShop listing.
Is Resident Evil Resistance included with Resident Evil 3 on Switch 2?
No. Capcom's Switch 2 lineup page states that Resident Evil Resistance is not included.
How big are the downloads?
Nintendo's listings give about 14 GB for Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition, 13 GB for Resident Evil 3 and 29 GB for Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition, roughly 56 GB for all three.
Will my Resident Evil 2 or 3 Cloud Version save carry over?
No. Capcom's lineup page says saves and Cloud Versions that use the original Switch's cloud service can't be shared or transferred to the Switch 2 editions.
Is the Resident Evil Generation Pack the same as these three games?
No. The Generation Pack is a separate bundle of Resident Evil Requiem, Resident Evil 7 Gold Edition and Resident Evil Village Gold Edition. The 2, 3 and 4 remakes are sold individually.
Do the Switch 2 versions run at 60 fps?
All three target 60 fps, and reviewers say they hit it most of the time. Resident Evil 2 is the smoothest, while Resident Evil 4 is the most demanding and the two reviews I read disagree on how much it dips.
