The fan who spent 8 years making an HD mod for Resident Evil 4 now has an industry job

A Resident Evil 4 fan who spent eight years making an HD mod for the game has landed a job with a game developer as a result.

Albert Martin started the Resident Evil 4 HD Project in 2014 along with fellow Resident Evil fan Cris Morales, and finally released version 1.0 in February 2022.

Now, in an update on the mod’s website, Martin revealed that he had been hired by a studio specialising in similar retro remasters.

“I’m really happy because I’m finally and for the first time in my life working in the videogame industry,” Martin wrote. “Thank you, Joel, for having faith in me, and thank you, Stephen, for the opportunity in Nightdive Studios.”

Nightdive Studios is best known for its work remastering older polygonal games and making them look sharper and run smoother on modern systems.

Recent Nightdive ports have included Turok Dinosaur Hunter, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Forsaken Remastered, Doom 64, Quake, Shadow Man Remastered, PowerSlave Exhumed and both System Shock games.

The Resident Evil 4 HD mod requires players to own a copy of the PC version on Steam, as the mod doesn’t use any of Capcom‘s existing assets: it only replaces some of them with newly enhanced ones.

The mod replaces almost every texture in the game with new high-resolution textures, and replaces a number of flat objects (such as lamps, candle holders and doors) with new 3D models.

For some of the textures, Martin actually travelled to the same locations in Spain and Wales where Capcom took photography, and took the photos again so he could make higher resolution assets that were as accurate as possible.

In his update, Martin noted that he “can’t wait to play” Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 4, which is out this week, stressing that in his mind the remake will never replace the original because “they are two different experiences”.

VGC’s Resident Evil 4 remake review calls the game “a faithful restoration of an all-time classic”, adding: “Resident Evil 4 is a careful restoration of what remains one of the most compelling action games ever made.

“The core elements which make the original such a masterpiece are all here, reminding us that sometimes the secret for these big re-releases is knowing where to remake, and where to remaster.”