Players switch between Grace and Leon, who have different gameplay mechanics. Missions featuring Grace are presented in the survival horror style of games such as Resident Evil 2 (2019), Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) and Resident Evil Village, involving her efforts to evade detection from primary antagonist Victor Gideon and the monsters inside the hotel. Leon's missions are combat-driven, similar to games such as Resident Evil 4 (2023).
A new Resident Evil game was announced in July 2024 to be directed by Koshi Nakanishi, returning from Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Resident Evil Requiem was unveiled by Capcom at Summer Game Fest 2025 that June. It commemorates the series' 30th anniversary, and returns to the overarching narrative between the Raccoon City incident and the activities of Umbrella Corp, last seen in Resident Evil 6 (2012). Resident Evil Requiem is scheduled for release on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on February 27, 2026.
Gameplay
Resident Evil Requiem is a single-player survival horror game in which the player assumes the role of FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft and DSO agent Leon S. Kennedy, with the game alternating between the two characters throughout the story in a manner similar to Resident Evil: Revelations (2012).[4] Grace's sections are more focused on survival horror with limited resources that requires the player to be more cautious in encounters.[5] Grace is pursued by a monster throughout the game, similar to Mr. X and Lady Dimitrescu of previous Resident Evil games.[6] To avoid detection by this monster, the player can crouch and sneak to make less noise and hide under objects like tables. However, the monster can also stalk the player through walls and ceilings. Grace can distract the monster by collecting and throwing glass bottles found throughout the environment.[7] The player has access to a lighter to illuminate dark areas, though this light will also attract the attention of the monster. Leon's sections focus more prominently on action and combat, allowing him to use both firearms and melee moves to subdue zombie enemies.[4] In addition to his hatchet melee weapon with limited durability for parrying incoming enemy attacks, Leon can also pick up enemy weapons and use them against them.[8]
Requiem allows players to switch between first-person or third-person perspectives at any time, marking a departure from recent Resident Evil entries that featured exclusively first-person gameplay.[b][6] First-person perspective is the default for Grace's sections and third-person for Leon's sections. First-person offers "tense, realistic gameplay" according to Capcom, while third-person is "ideal for people who enjoy action-packed gameplay".[9]
Premise
FBI intelligence analyst[10] Grace Ashcroft is dispatched to investigate a series of strange deaths at the condemned Wrenwood Hotel in Raccoon City, where her mother Alyssa died eight years prior.[11] Meanwhile, D.S.O agent Leon S. Kennedy is sent to the Midwest to investigate a series of incidents tied to former Umbrella scientist Victor Gideon. The story is set about 30 years after Raccoon City was destroyed in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999).[12] Capcom has described Grace as an introverted bookworm who feels powerless due to not being proficient in combat like other Resident Evil protagonists such as Claire Redfield or Jill Valentine.[6][13]
Development
On July 1, 2024, a Capcom Showcase presentation revealed that the next main Resident Evil entry was in development and would be directed by Koshi Nakanishi.[1] Over the course of its six-year development, Resident Evil Requiem changed dramatically.[14] According to Nakanishi, the game was initially conceived as an onlineopen worldmultiplayer game, but the concept was scrapped during early development in favor of a more traditional single-playerResident Evil game, as the development team felt that "it wasn't what the fans wanted".[15] The team also experimented with making a "genuine horror game with Leon" like Resident Evil 2 but felt that "people wouldn't want to see a timid Leon".[16] Capcom's female staff members were involved in designing the older Leon S. Kennedy.[17] The older Leon has been characterized by the Japanese slang term "ikeoji" that roughly translates to "an attractive or cool older man" and as a "hot uncle".[18]
At the 2025 Tokyo Game Show, producer Masato Kumazawa revealed that during the original planning of the game, a Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game was not considered, as the system had not been officially revealed yet. Following the team's acquisition of development kits for the system, they tested the hardware by prototyping a port of Resident Evil Village (2021).[19] The porting process went smoothly, giving the team confidence to attempt to bring the in-development Requiem to the system as well, which was met with similar success. As such, they decided not to wait on creating a separate port for the system, and immediately added a Switch 2 version to the existing release plans.[20] While the developers initially experimented with implementing the mouse control function of the Joy-Con 2 controllers for aiming and camera manipulation, Kumazawa claimed that its integration "confused the gameplay" and as such, they ultimately settled on using the Switch 2's gyroscope feature for similar precision.[21]
Capcom announced Resident Evil Requiem at Summer Game Fest on June 6, 2025, with a release date of February 27, 2026.[23][12][9] The trailer was the show's concluding reveal.[24] The trailer featured the devastated Raccoon City, including the police station of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3.[25][9]Resident Evil Requiem was added to over 1 million wishlists across all the platforms it is set for release on.[26] A playable demo was made available at the 2025 Gamescom and Pax West conventions in August 2025.[27][28]
On August 20, 2025, a new trailer was released, showing more of Grace's backstory with a cutscene segment of her and Alyssa, as well as gameplay sequences.[29] A third trailer premiered at the Game Awards 2025, revealing Leon as a second playable character in the game, with a focus on action for his gameplay sections.[30]
A Nintendo Switch 2 version was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation in September 2025, for release alongside the other platforms, in addition to Switch 2 versions of its predecessors Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) and Resident Evil Village (2021).[31] A Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller themed after the game will be released alongside the game, with an amiibo of Grace releasing in 2026.[32] Pre-ordering the game through the Epic Games Store will grant cosmetics based on the game in Fortnite in March 2026.[33] In February 2026, Capcom released a live-action trailer that features Maika Monroe as a mother experiencing the initial Raccoon City outbreak in the 1990s.[34]
Notes
↑Known in Japan as Biohazard Requiem (Japanese: バイオハザード レクイエム, Hepburn: Baiohazādo Rekuiemu) and commonly referred to as Resident Evil 9 or Resident Evil 9: Requiem
↑Resident Evil Village (2021) added the option to play in a third-person perspective in a post-launch update.
↑Webster, Andrew (June 6, 2025). "Resident Evil Requiem is coming next year". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 6, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2025. After a very convincing tease that suggested news was in fact not incoming, Capcom just officially announced Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth mainline entry in the franchise
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