Dino Crisis is a survival horror game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and directed and produced by Shinji Mikami. It came out on the PlayStation in Japan on 1 July 1999, in North America on 23 September 1999 and in PAL regions on 29 October 1999, where Virgin Interactive published it.
The team behind Resident Evil designed it as a spiritual successor without that series' fantasy elements, using real-time 3D environments instead of pre-rendered backgrounds. Mikami promoted it as 'panic horror' rather than survival horror, and the developers studied carnivorous animals to animate the dinosaurs. In Japan it sold over 300,000 units in its debut week, and the PlayStation version reached 2.4 million copies worldwide.
Dreamcast and Windows versions followed in 2000, while two Game Boy Color versions were cancelled. A new PC edition arrived on GOG.com in January 2025 and on Steam in February 2026.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Dino Crisis | PlayStation | Sep 23, 1999 | Capcom | 1 |
| JP | ディノクライシス | PlayStation | Jul 1, 1999 | Capcom | 1 |
| EU | Dino Crisis | PlayStation | Oct 29, 1999 | Virgin Interactive | 1 |
| JP | ディノクライシスDreamcast; North America 15 November 2000 | Other | Sep 6, 2000 | — | 1 |
| EU | Dino CrisisWindows; North America 4 December 2000 | Windows | Sep 15, 2000 | — | 1 |
| WW | Dino CrisisPlayStation Plus Premium for PS4 and PS5, then PlayStation Store in November 2024 | PlayStation 4 | October 2024 | — | 1 |
| WW | Dino CrisisGOG.com release for Windows 10 and 11 | Windows | Jan 29, 2025 | Capcom | 2 |
| WW | Dino CrisisSteam release, co-developed by GOG.com | Windows | Feb 12, 2026 | Capcom | 3 |
Also known as: ディノクライシス JP4
Box art by region
NA Dino Crisis 
EU Dino Crisis 
JP ディノクライシス
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
DifficultyPlayStation (NA)
The North American release places more dinosaurs than the Japanese one, although the number of species is the same.1
-
GraphicsDreamcast
The Dreamcast and Windows ports add little, but the Dreamcast version avoids the texture warping of the PlayStation original.1
-
GraphicsGOG.com (2025)
The GOG.com edition runs on Windows 10 and 11 and adds windowed mode, vertical sync, integer scaling, higher resolutions, 32-bit color and support for modern controllers.5
Where to play legally today
-
GOG Purchase
-
Steam Purchase
How to run it today
Buy the GOG.com or Steam edition. The GOG.com version is made for Windows 10 and 11, with modern controller support, windowed mode and higher resolutions.5
Reception
The PlayStation version holds 84% on GameRankings and 34/40 from Famitsu, while the Dreamcast and PC ports scored lower (72% and 61%). Critics often called it 'Resident Evil with dinosaurs'. The PlayStation version sold 2.4 million copies worldwide.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.