The Resident Evil series revolves around the fight against the Umbrella Corporation, the pharmaceutical company behind illegal viruses and bioweapons. After the catastrophe in Raccoon City, horror spreads across the globe. Surviving, investigating, and uncovering the truth remain at the heart of the series. A new chapter begins: Resident Evil Requiem.
Resident Evil Requiem is the 9th instalment in Capcom’s iconic survival horror series. The franchise centres on the Umbrella Corporation, a pharmaceutical company secretly developing viruses and biological weapons. When one of these experiments spirals out of control, Raccoon City is transformed into a terrifying landscape filled with mutants and zombies. Survivors must fight with scarce resources, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth behind Umbrella’s experiments.
What began as a local incident quickly escalated into global bioterror. Themes such as greed, corruption, and human survival under extreme pressure remain at the core of the series. Requiem brings back classic survival horror elements: limited resources, tactical decision-making, and constant tension. Unlike the gothic horror first-person gameplay of the 8th instalment, Resident Evil Village, Requiem is set in an urban environment where you can freely switch between first- and third-person perspectives.
In Resident Evil Requiem, you play as Grace Ashcroft, a technical analyst at the FBI. Shortly after the story begins, her mother Alyssa Ashcroft passes away, an event that draws Grace personally into the investigation that follows. Fans of the older Resident Evil games will know that Alyssa appears in Resident Evil Outbreak and Outbreak File 2. She was a journalist and one of the few people to survive the zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. Alyssa tried to gather evidence against the infamous Umbrella Corporation, the pharmaceutical company behind the deadly viruses and bioweapons.
8 years later, Grace is investigating a murder at the very place where her mother died: an old hotel that turns out to be full of secrets. When a police officer then disappears without a trace in the same hotel, Grace is brought in on the case as an FBI analyst. Driven to continue her mother’s work, she becomes entangled in a story of manipulation and experiments, as old secrets slowly rise to the surface.
As soon as news of the missing police officer breaks, another familiar name is sent to the hotel: Leon S. Kennedy. By now, Leon has become one of the faces of the Resident Evil series. Since the disaster in Raccoon City, he has survived countless incidents and built up a reputation as a battle-hardened agent. In Requiem, he once again appears as a government operative, equipped with his usual arsenal of firearms, his axe, and years of experience with biological weapons.
Leon is assigned to investigate the officer’s disappearance, but it soon becomes clear that his mission is closely tied to Grace’s past and Alyssa’s death.
As Grace and Leon dig deeper into the hotel’s secrets, their investigations increasingly begin to overlap. Together, they are confronted with their past and with the truth behind the incident in Raccoon City.
In the meantime, fans continue to speculate about other possible returning characters in Requiem. Names such as Ada Wong, Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine are frequently mentioned: characters who, like Leon, played a key role during the events in Raccoon City. Whether they will actually appear remains a surprise for now.
Resident Evil fans have plenty to cheer about, as Requiem is set in Raccoon City, the iconic city where the horror first began. It was here that Umbrella carried out its earliest experiments, and where the first zombie outbreak occurred. In Requiem, you are pursued by a monster, similar to Mr X in Resident Evil 2, while you investigate the murder cases in the hotel. Along the way, you’ll uncover traces of earlier teams, abandoned safe rooms and logbooks that reference events from the older titles. For long-time fans, it feels like a return to Resident Evil’s roots: pure horror, tricky puzzles and countless nods to the past. New players are treated to a gripping story about survival, uncovering the truth and preventing a new disaster.
Resident Evil Requiem follows 2 connecting storylines and lets you play with 2 clearly different playing styles. This combination creates an intense and consistently suspenseful experience.
Grace: survival horror under pressure
For Grace, everything revolves around surviving with limited resources. She has few supplies and can only carry a restricted number of items, meaning every choice matters. You analyse enemies and constantly decide whether to fight or make a run for it. In addition, Grace can use the blood of infected enemies to craft items, ammunition and special injectors that can take down enemies in a single hit. Her gameplay focuses on the tension and horror aspects of Requiem.
Leon: brute force
Leon’s gameplay is more action oriented. He favours an arsenal of firearms, his axe and powerful melee attacks. However, Leon is not limited to his own attacks: he can even turn his enemies’ weapons against them. You manage his expandable inventory via his case, where you organise ammunition, healing items and all kinds of weapons, and upgrade them with parts. With Leon, the emphasis is on combat, providing a counterbalance to Grace’s intense horror.
Resident Evil Requiem is the 9th mainline instalment, but its story stands entirely on its own. You can play the game without having seen any of the previous entries. Requiem clearly introduces the key characters, events, and terminology, so new players can jump right in. If you want more background, you can play the earlier mainline games for additional context. For fans who want to learn more about Alyssa Ashcroft, the spin-offs Resident Evil Outbreak and Outbreak File 2 offer further insight into her role, the Raccoon City crisis, and the first outbreaks.
The Resident Evil game series consists of 8 main titles:
These titles follow the story of Umbrella, from the first incidents in Raccoon City to later forms of bioterror and the survivors who flee from it. In addition, there are multiple spin-offs that explore different perspectives and side stories. In Outbreak and Outbreak File 2, Alyssa Ashcroft experiences the Raccoon City crisis up close, while Resident Evil: Code Veronica remains a favourite among many fans. Together, all these games weave a long narrative filled with intriguing characters, terrifying viruses, and dark conspiracies.
Can’t wait to return to Raccoon City? Resident Evil Requiem was released on 27 February 2026. Want to get started in the meantime? At MediaMarkt, you can find all the previous Resident Evil games so you can prepare for Resident Evil Requiem.
Resident Evil Requiem is released on 27 February 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.
