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What Is Resident Evil Requiem?
Resident Evil Requiem (also known as RE9) was revealed at Summer Game Fest in June 2025, closing the show as its biggest reveal. Director Koshi Nakanishi, who directed the excellent Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, returns at the helm after 6 years of development.
The game uses Capcom's RE Engine and is the first Resident Evil developed exclusively for 9th-generation consoles, with ray tracing as a core design element. Within the first week after the reveal, it surpassed 1 million wishlists across all platforms.
Key Information
- Title: Resident Evil Requiem (Biohazard Requiem in Japan)
- Developer/Publisher: Capcom
- Director: Koshi Nakanishi
- Engine: RE Engine
- Release: February 27, 2026
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre: Survival Horror / Action
Two Protagonists, Two Experiences
Requiem's biggest innovation is the dual-protagonist system. The developers described it as “repeatedly jumping into a cold bath after a hot sauna” — and that's no exaggeration.
Grace Ashcroft — The Horror
Grace is an FBI intelligence analyst, daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft from Resident Evil Outbreak. Capcom describes her as an “introverted bookworm who feels powerless” — deliberately unlike Jill Valentine or Claire Redfield. Grace's sections are pure survival horror: limited resources, darkness, held breaths.
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A monster stalks her throughout the entire game — similar to Mr. X and Lady Dimitrescu. She can crouch, hide under tables, throw glass bottles as distractions. Her lighter illuminates the path but also attracts the monster. Default perspective: first-person.
Leon S. Kennedy — The Action
Leon returns as a DSO agent, older, tougher. Capcom characterizes him as “ikeoji” — an attractive older man. Leon's sections are action-driven: firearms, melee combat, a hatchet with limited durability for parrying, and the ability to pick up enemy weapons.
Switching between Grace and Leon creates a rhythmic gameplay loop: horror → action → horror → action. At any point you can switch between first and third-person perspectives — a first for the series.
The Story: 30 Years Later
The story takes place approximately 30 years after Raccoon City's destruction. Grace is sent to investigate mysterious deaths at the condemned Wrenwood Hotel — where her mother died 8 years prior. She's kidnapped and finds herself trapped in the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center.
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Meanwhile, Leon investigates the deaths of several Raccoon City survivors. Victor Gideon, a former Umbrella scientist, is the primary suspect and antagonist. Requiem returns to the series' central narrative — the relationship between Raccoon City and Umbrella Corp — something we haven't seen since Resident Evil 6 (2012).
Interesting Details
- Grace is the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft from RE Outbreak (2003)
- The story honors 30 years of the series (1996-2026)
- Originally planned as an online open world multiplayer game
- The team scrapped it because “it wasn't what the fans wanted”
- Leon was designed with input from female Capcom staff members
Technical Specs by Platform
As the first exclusively 9th-gen RE, Requiem pushes serious technology. There's no cross-gen compromise — each platform is utilized to its fullest.
Platform Comparison
Capcom developed an impressive hair strand system that renders individual strands — technology transferred from the Pragmata project. On Switch 2, traditional hair cards are used instead of strand rendering, but RTGI (Ray Traced Global Illumination) remains.
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Switch 2 and RE's Future
Interestingly, the Switch 2 version wasn't in the original plan. After receiving dev kits, the team first tested a port of Resident Evil Village. It went so well they decided to bring Requiem too — along with ports of RE7 and Village.
Capcom experimented with mouse control via Joy-Con 2 for aiming, but it “confused the gameplay.” They ultimately chose gyroscope precision instead. A special Switch 2 Pro Controller theme and amiibo figures of Grace and Leon will launch alongside the game.
6 Years of Development
Requiem underwent dramatic changes during its 6-year development. It was originally an online open world multiplayer game — radically different from what we see today. The team decided to change direction after concluding that “it wasn't what the fans wanted.”
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They even tried pure horror sections with Leon, but realized fans wouldn't accept a “timid” Leon. Thus the dual-protagonist idea was born: Grace brings the horror, Leon brings the action.
Why You Should Pay Attention
Resident Evil Requiem combines everything: the return to Raccoon City, two gameplay styles, cutting-edge technology, a narrative that closes 30-year story arcs. Capcom isn't playing it safe — this is a bold RE that risks with a new female protagonist, dual perspectives, and storytelling that demands franchise knowledge.
With a playable demo at Gamescom 2025, 1M+ wishlists, a live-action trailer starring Maika Monroe, and simultaneous launch across 4 platforms (including Switch 2 launch window), Requiem is poised to become one of the biggest titles of 2026.