Datamined files from the Resident Evil 4 remake show Capcom scrapped an early chapter where players would control Ashley Graham from the start. The cut content, dubbed "Chapter 0," depicted her witnessing a Los Illuminados ritual and her eventual kidnapping. YouTuber Thekempy reconstructed the sequence using leftover game assets.
The Resident Evil 4 remake, developed by Capcom, originally planned a different opening that has now come to light through datamined files. According to a report by Cameron Koch on January 5, 2026, an eagle-eyed fan discovered remnants of "Chapter 0," a segment not present in the 2005 original game. In this cut content, players would have taken control of Ashley Graham alone in a nighttime forest, stumbling upon a Los Illuminados ritual—a brief glimpse of which appeared in the game's October 2022 story trailer.
As Ashley made her way to the village center, she would navigate using her phone's light, sneaking past enemies like the Ganado. The sequence escalated with frantic running, culminating in her witnessing the kidnapping of Luis Serra by a Ganado. Although no cutscenes remain in the files, evidence includes enemy spawn points, scripted event triggers, auto-save locations, and inaccessible areas, helping to outline the chapter's structure.
The reason for the cut remains unclear, but Thekempy speculates it was to maintain the game's fast-paced action. "An opening chapter focusing on Ashley hiding and sneaking would have slowed down a game known for its non-stop action," the YouTuber suggested in a recent video.
This revelation highlights Capcom's iterative development process. The company continues its remake efforts, with reports suggesting upcoming versions of Resident Evil Zero and Code Veronica, the latter aiming to expand on original plot elements. Meanwhile, the next mainline title, Resident Evil Requiem, will feature Leon S. Kennedy returning to Raccoon City and is set for release on February 27 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.
