UPDATE: 2023/03/09 18:11 EST BY MATTHEW SCHOMER
THE DEMO HAS BEEN CONFIRMED
During the Capcom Spotlight UK stream on Thursday, Capcom confirmed that a demo is available today on PlayStaion 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. Called The Chainsaw Demo, it will begin at the game's opening and will have no time limit, allowing you to play through as many times as you like.
Late Wednesday night, users reported seeing ads on Twitch for the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake. The ads oddly specify "Demo Available Now", though no download has actually yet been made available. The common consensus being reached is that these ads are jumping the gun for a demo which will drop following Capcom's Spotlight stream later today.
Originally revealed in June last year, Resident Evil 4 is the hotly anticipated remake of the classic 2005 title. The game is set for release later this month, on March 24, on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Teases and trailers for the game have already confirmed new story sequences, as well as the return of the Mercenaries mode. During the PlayStation Showcase on February 24, the same trailer which confirmed those features also teased the release of a demo in the future.
The time for that release is now, or would seem to be, if you believe those Twitch ads people are seeing. In actuality, they're likely just a few hours early, with the departments behind them seemingly as unable to contain their excitement for Resident Evil 4 as fans of the franchise are.
Capcom had announced a week ago that it would be streaming a digital showcase this Thursday, March 9. It will begin at 2:30 PM PT / 10:30 PM GMT. Capcom's announcement confirms that the stream will show off news regarding Resident Evil 4, as well as other games including Exoprimal, Monster Hunter Rise, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.
No expected runtime has been confirmed for the stream. So while the exact time is uncertain, it would make sense for Capcom to announce that the demo for Resident Evil 4 is available to play as soon as the audience is done watching the stream.
Exactly what the Resident Evil 4 demo will consist of is not made clear by the short, simple Twitch trailer. This pattern of release does line up with the previous entries in Capcom's Resident Evil remakes. Both the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake and the 2020 Resident Evil 3 remake had demos released less than a month ahead of their proper launch date. That should be just enough time to whet the appetites of gamers before they're able to chow down on Leon S. Kennedy and the rest of the Resident Evil 4 main course.