Planned for release tomorrow, April 7, some players in Korea are reporting that they’re able to access the remake of Resident Evil 4’s Mercenary Mode early. Unfortunately, some are also saying that the mode is missing key content at the moment.
A staple of the Resident Evil games, Mercenary Mode is an arcade-style horde mode where players fight against waves of infected to compete for high scores. The original Resident Evil 4 allowed players to unlock Mercenary Mode upon completion of its campaign, but the remake has taken a different strategy, as Capcom announced the mode would be making its debut tomorrow, April 7, instead.
Hehehe, thank you, strangers, for all your support on Resident Evil 4.
Check out what the experts have to say about this reimagined action-horror classic!Don’t miss out on The Mercenaries, arriving as free #RE4 DLC tomorrow on April 7th! pic.twitter.com/SveEG0lsfd
— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) April 6, 2023
Players have noted that the version available to those in the previously mentioned regions is missing Ada Wong and Albert Wesker as playable characters, both of whom were in previous versions of the mode and were datamined as being in the remake as well. This has led some to speculate that perhaps Capcom intends to offer the characters as paid downloadable content in the future.
This would seem to confirm reports of microtransactions entering the mode, which players have begun spotting on online stores in the form of “upgrade tickets” that would grant players faster progress with their Mercenary Mode runs.
A screenshot from the New Zealand PlayStation store shows players will be able to pay for faster progress.
The item description for these Upgrade Tickets reads: “here’s your ticket to the gun show! Specifically a ticket to be redeemed at the Merchant’s shop. With this, you’ll have access to a weapon’s exclusive upgrade at any time, regardless of the weapon’s level. Not only that, but once unlocked, the upgrade itself is free of charge!”
As a single-player game mode, this “pay-to-win” model might prove less controversial than those deployed in competitive multiplayer games, but the omission of two key characters is likely to be a disappointment to some.
While you wait for Mercenaries to arrive in your region, be sure to check out our review of the Resident Evil 4 Remake and six big scenes that got cut from the original game.
Travis Northup is a freelance writer at IGN.