Resident Evil 4 Remake has been released much to the delight of fans of the series, both longtime and new. Despite the love many have for the original game, it is one of the least connected games to the overall franchise, which the remake has seemingly tried to fix. A big way that Capcom might have done this is by having a possible reference located in the in-game files to the RE7’s Baker family, Jack and/or Joe Baker, to be exact.
Something that the remake has in spades is offering players expanded character arcs and motivations that provide more detail on the people found within the original game. One of these characters is Krauser, Leon’s former mentor, who gets involved with the Los Illuminados cult, with him, in fact, being the person who abducted Ashley for the group’s plans to take over the world.
Interestingly enough, right before battling Krauser, Leon stumbles upon a tent filled with information regarding what Krauser has been up to, including notes on Operation Javier and the plan to kidnap Ashley. In the file explaining the latter event, Krauser notes two people by name who helped him in the mission to get the President’s Daughter, an Able and a Baker.
While it could be just a coincidence that RE7’s signature family name is included in the note, it would be an exciting crossover if it was the case and seemingly doesn’t majorly break the lore of either game. It’s important to remember that brothers Jack and Joe Baker were former U.S. marines, so it stands to reason that they may have crossed paths and even befriended Krauser at some point.
Although, it does seem more likely, given what we know about the Baker family, that it was Joe, the protagonist of RE7’s End of Zoe DLC, who was the one that Krauser mentioned. Perhaps the reason that Joe lived in isolation was because he was worried about his involvement being revealed. Also, seeing as how it was stated in the DLC that Jack and Joe had a falling out, it is quite possible that Jack ended up finding out about Joe’s part in the kidnapping of the President’s Daughter and didn’t want him near Zoe.
Whatever the case may be, it’s an interesting thing to include, as it wasn’t a note in the original Resident Evil 4. Still, there has unfortunately been no confirmation as of yet, so feel free to draw your own conclusions for the time being.