Word of the game first arrived in the form of a now-removed GameFly listing, which Joystiq quickly confirmed as legitimate via Sega. Though the company did state the game was coming, a representative noted Sega was not ready to formally announce the title. A supposed press release from Sega Europe, referring to the game as "House of the Dead 2&3 Return," began making the rounds on message boards around that time, though its legitimacy is questionable.

The initial game listing indicated it was expected on March 31, 2008, though such specific dates this far in advance are generally estimates. Both titles were first released in arcades, with AM1's House of the Dead 2 arriving later on Dreamcast and PC. Wow Entertainment's House of the Dead 3 eventually made its way to Xbox and PC, complete with an unlockable version of House of the Dead 2.