The file was a 64MB ROM. Hashing confirmed it was not a fake. The leak included a readme file claiming the source was an old, forgotten backup hard drive from a former Capcom USA localization tester. The prototype was dated (a build known internally as "Sample Version 2").
To understand the gravity of the 2021 leak, you must first rewind to the summer of 1998. Resident Evil 2 had just shattered sales records on the PlayStation. Capcom, riding a wave of zombie-infused success, announced a three-pronged attack on the Nintendo 64. resident evil 0 n64 prototype rom 2021