The House of the Dead franchise has been dormant for quite a while, which seemingly signifies the emphasis - or lack thereof - on lightgun arcade titles in the gaming industry. Yet, as reported by Bloody Disgusting, the first two House of the Dead titles will be receiving remakes at some point.
According to an article from Polish publication Graczpospolita, Forever Entertainment, which is also the developer behind the Panzer Dragoon remakes, will be heading the development of the House of the Dead remakes. Apparently, the remakes will feature "new graphics adapted to modern standards and slightly modified gameplay, but will fully preserve the original scenario."
Beyond this, no other information has been released. This includes details about the platforms the games will be released on, which could be restricted to arcades like Dave & Buster's, as well as whether the game will utilize the series' familiar lightgun mechanics.
The series' last appearance was in 2018 in an arcade game called House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn. This title was also a lightgun game. The series' last console entry was The House of the Dead 4, which was released on PlayStation 3 in 2012. The game utilized PlayStation Move for its lightgun gameplay and was received moderately well, garnering a 73 on Metacritic.
As for the upcoming release, the remakes could either be total flops or a successful reinvention. Perhaps if the game reworks its mechanics for modern audiences or, moreover, simply gets a semi-serious update like Resident Evil 2's remake, players can will come to appreciate the charm the series has to offer, rather than just the cheesiness that lightgun games were often renowned for.
The lightgun genre, frankly, has taken a backseat to shooters of other kinds for a while now, including first and third-person shooters. However, it isn't as if the games aren't entertaining. Arcades like the aforementioned Dave & Buster's still are complete with lightgun arcade machines, like Ghost Squad and more, which allow you to jump into the action against waves of enemies. The benefit of a console lightgun game is that you don't constantly have to relinquish coins for more fun. Because of this, The House of the Dead's remakes could turn out to be a welcome revisiting to the franchise.