After an aggressively middling Summer Game Fest – with standouts like Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Stranger Than Heaven, and a shadow drop for Lies of P: Overture – the event finally hit us with the big one. Resident Evil 9, officially known as Resident Evil Requiem, is real, and it has a release date of February 27th, 2026, for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC.
After all the rumors about Leon being the protagonist, it’s funny that the first trailer would begin with an almost complete unknown – Grace Ashcroft. An agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, she looks into a fresh death – an unknown individual who passed an unidentified disease. Of course, in Resident Evil, that’s always code for “nothing possibly good.” After being called into her superior’s office, Grace is asked to investigate another murder in the Wrenwood Hotel. The only problem is that it’s the same location where her mother, Alyssa, was murdered eight years prior.
After snatches of flashbacks showing Alyssa, including a hooded individual, Grace awakens strapped to a gurney and apparently suspended on the wall. It then cuts to a voice telling her to “Stay close” and “They’re coming.” A mysterious individual seated next to a gramophone in a dilapidated house talks about how this Ashcroft is the one he’s been searching for – the “special one” and the “chosen one.”
From there, we’re taken to a familiar scene – Ground Zero of Raccoon City. Following the outbreak during the events of Resident Evil 2, there’s a massive crater and several buildings, including the old RPD station. Other notable lines by unknown characters are heard, but the most distinct ones are those from a woman stating, “Please know that you are my hope,” and a child who says “Everyone’s gone.” Perhaps a scene from the past before Alyssa’s death, followed by Grace telling whoever rescued her about what happened?
Things escalate even further with a man bleeding out on the floor, screaming for someone to stay away from him. A gargantuan figure slithers from a trap door in the ceiling onto the floor in a hallway (where a horse statue is visible at the end). An unknown person is suffocated by a hooded figure, followed by an officer seemingly overcome by…something, perhaps the same disease afflicting the other cases. We then see a woman walking down a hallway with what looks like medical room dividers, but the location doesn’t appear to be a hospital. Before the title drops, we see a mutated human and hear the rattling of chains. It may be the same figure that descends into the hallway from earlier.
There’s a lot to dissect from all this, but it’s worth examining the official website, which contains the tagline, “Requiem for the dead. Nightmare for the living.” Requiem, by the way, is a musical service to honor the dead. The developer then teases that players must “Prepare to escape death in a heart-stopping experience that will chill you to your core” and that a “new era of survival horror begins in 2026.” It seemingly feeds into rumors about the ninth Resident Evil concluding the ongoing story and a transition to the next game, which will be a soft reboot that does away with the numbering.
A press release then outlines how RE Engine will leverage modern consoles to deliver realistic facial expressions, skin textures and even “high-fidelity sweat droplets,” as seen with Grace. Of course, it also outright confirms that fans will return to Raccoon City and combine the “deeply terrifying aspects of psychological horror with pulse-pounding action that franchise fans know and love.”
The aerial shot of Raccoon City might make one think of a more open-world style setting, but that’s probably not quite it. Insider Aesthetic Gamer, aka Dusk Golem, alleged that an open-world version of the game with multiplayer was in the works before a heavy reboot in 2021 following the launch of Resident Evil Village. Whether this is true or not, an open-level structure wouldn’t be the strangest thing. It could very well evolve on its predecessor’s structure, offering more freedom while still adhering to the classic Resident Evil formula but with more immersive gameplay.
Grace is a wild card of sorts, specifically because all the rumors till now indicated that Leon is the protagonist. Of course, it’s worth noting that the developer didn’t outright confirm that Grace is the only character – not that this is something they would confirm at this stage. Misdirection is nothing new for the development team, though – see the tease of Chris in Resident Evil Village, where he would eventually become playable, albeit for a brief time. But you have to believe that if Leon is playable – and according to Dusk Golem, he was present in this very trailer – the developer will keep it as a big surprise.
I’m curious about Grace’s involvement because of her mother, Alyssa. She was playable in Resident Evil Outbreak, having survived the bombing of Raccoon City, and would go on to write an expose on Umbrella USA’s role in it all. There’s even a news report in Resident Evil 7: biohazard about various disappearances (the same ones caused by the Baker family). But for all intents and purposes, Alyssa is a minor character. Perhaps she’s a connection to something much bigger that’s going down, which could involve Leon and other elements of Raccoon City.
I’m also inclined to believe – and this is pure speculation – that the monster seen in the trailer is Alyssa. As far-fetched as it sounds, perhaps the “Requiem” part of the title is related to Grace finally laying her mother to rest on top of confronting the trauma from years prior. It would also explain the “Nightmare for the living” part of the tagline. After all, what could be worse for Grace than seeing Alyssa in such a mutated, horrifying state and maybe, potentially, having to kill her?
Judging from the trailer, it’s also possible that players go into the past and experience events from Alyssa’s point of view to add further intrigue – and reinforce the survival horror aspects. Then, there’s the part where Grace is wounded and bandaged up. The IV tube on her right arm and being strapped to a gurney – alongside the faux hospital-looking room earlier – indicates that she’s been operated on. But was this to heal her or modify her body in some way? On top of all this is the mysterious figure sitting next to the gramophone. If you look closely at his arm, he appears to be wearing a leather jacket and glove fairly similar to Albert Wesker’s outfit. Even the collar is a strong match. However, his physical appearance and voice don’t match at all, so perhaps this is more misdirection from the developer.
To cap it all off, the PlayStation Blog notes that survival horror takes “center stage” in Requiem but that it also features “high-stakes cinematic action that will take the series in a bold new direction.” I can’t help but think of “escape” in that regard and how it may tie into the gameplay loop in a way that the series hasn’t seen thus far. And before there are any concerns about potential extraction mechanics, the developer has confirmed it’s a single-player title. We’ll have to wait for more details at Gamescom, where it’s playable, but if the “9” in place of the “q” in Requiem is any indication, there will only be more questions leading up to its launch.
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