Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster developers used beta builds to restore cut content

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster director Ryosuke Murai has confirmed that the developers used planning documents and beta builds to restore content that was removed from the original 2006 game.

The recently released Dead Rising remake (or “Deluxe Remaster” as Capcom calls it) is largely a very faithful re-release of the 2006 classic, capturing what made that game so iconic while introducing a few quality of life changes and Toning down the difficulty in some areas. However, there are some interesting additions that are reminiscent of the game’s development history.

When Deluxe Remaster was first revealed, fans were quick to notice that some of the male zombie police officers now shoot Frank as he passes them, which was originally intended in the 2006 release. There are a few other cases where cut content was added back into the game, such as the rocket launcher, which the game director has now confirmed came from the game’s development investigation.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster’s new additions come from abridged beta content

Speaking to TheGamer at the Tokyo Game Show, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster director Ryosuke Murai explained how some of the game’s new content came about. Specifically, he confirmed that the team looked at features contained in “planning documents,” “early builds,” and “internal game design documentation” and decided to bring them back.

The most notable example of this is the police with guns, which, according to Murai, “were removed from the game for some reason.” Murai noted that the team wanted to recreate the concept of zombies “mindlessly repeating the job or actions they did while alive” and that it made sense for the zombie cops to specifically shoot Frank.

Murai also commented on the addition of the rocket launcher to the game, saying that it was included so that experienced players would be in for some “new surprises” rather than simply playing the same game again. When deciding which weapon was the most “fun” to add, the team chose the rocket launcher because they thought it was the coolest thing players could find.