The Resident Evil games revolve around the fight against the Umbrella Corporation, the pharmaceutical company behind illegal viruses and bioweapons. After the outbreak in Raccoon City, the horror spreads across the globe. Survival, investigation, and uncovering the truth are at the heart of the story. Now, a new chapter begins: Resident Evil Requiem.
Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth main instalment in Capcom’s legendary survival horror series. The games revolve around the Umbrella Corporation, a pharmaceutical company that secretly develops viruses and bioweapons. When one of these experiments goes wrong, Raccoon City descends into a nightmare filled with zombies and mutants. Survivors must fight with limited resources, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth behind Umbrella’s crimes.
What began as a local catastrophe has grown into a global bioterror crisis. Recurring themes such as greed, corruption, and human survival under extreme pressure continue to define the series. Requiem returns to the classic survival horror formula: scarce supplies, tactical decision-making, and constant tension. Unlike Village (Part 8), which focused on gothic horror and a first-person perspective, Requiem offers an urban setting where players can freely switch between first- and third-person gameplay.
In Resident Evil Requiem, you step into the shoes of Grace Ashcroft, a technical analyst at the FBI. At the beginning of the story, she loses her mother, Alyssa Ashcroft, an event that sets off a chain reaction. Fans of the classic titles will recognise Alyssa from Resident Evil Outbreak and Outbreak File 2. Alyssa was a journalist and one of the survivors of the zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. She gathered evidence against the notorious Umbrella Corporation, the company behind the deadly viruses and bioweapons from the games.
8 years after her death, Grace is investigating a crime at the very place where her mother lost her life: a hotel that is still hiding many secrets. As an FBI analyst, she is assigned to the case when something goes wrong there once again: a police officer has vanished without a trace in the same hotel. Determined to continue her mother’s work, Grace plunges into a dark story full of lies and experiments, uncovering the hidden secrets of the past.
When news of the missing officer gets out, another fan favourite is sent to the hotel: Leon S. Kennedy. By now, Leon is a legendary agent within the Resident Evil series, a veteran who has survived countless incidents since the tragedy in Raccoon City. In Requiem, he returns as a government agent, equipped with a case full of firearms, his axe, and his hard-earned experience in fighting bioweapons.
Leon is sent in to investigate the disappearance of the police officer, but it soon becomes clear that his mission is tied to Grace’s past and Alyssa’s death. As Grace and Leon dig deeper into the hotel’s mystery, their paths cross more and more often. Together, they must confront their trauma and unravel the truth behind the Raccoon City incident.
Many fans are still speculating about other possible returning characters in Requiem. Fans would love to see the return of Ada Wong, Claire Redfield or Jill Valentine: the original characters who, alongside Leon, played a major role in Raccoon City. Whether they will appear is still anyone’s guess.
Fans of the game series are thrilled that Requiem once again takes place in familiar Raccoon City, the place where the horror first began. This is where Umbrella carried out its first experiments and where the initial zombie outbreak occurred. In Requiem, you are hunted by a monster, much like Mr X in Resident Evil 2, while you investigate the murders and disappearances surrounding the hotel. Along the way, you come across traces of old teams, abandoned hideouts and logbooks that reference events from the classic games. For long-time fans, this feels like a return to the roots: strong horror, challenging puzzles and dozens of callbacks to the past. For new players, Requiem offers a gripping thriller about survival, uncovering the truth, and preventing a new catastrophe.
Resident Evil Requiem revolves around 2 connecting storylines and 2 completely different ways of playing that together create an emotional and nerve‑racking experience.
Grace: intense survival horror
With Grace, everything is about surviving with limited resources. She has few supplies and can only carry a restricted number of items. You’ll have to analyse enemies and constantly weigh up: fight or run? In addition, Grace can use the blood of infected enemies to craft items, ammo and special injectors that can take down enemies in a single hit. Grace’s gameplay is therefore focused mainly on Requiem’s intense horror aspect.
Leon: brutal action
Leon represents Requiem’s action side. He has access to a wide arsenal of firearms, his axe, and powerful melee attacks. He can perform special attacks and even turn enemies’ own weapons against them. You can manage and expand his inventory via his case, where you organise ammo, recovery items and various weapons, and upgrade them with parts. With Leon, you plunge headfirst into combat, taking a brief breather from the nerve-wracking horror you experience with Grace.
Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth entry in the main series, but it’s designed as a stand-alone story. This means you can jump in without any prior knowledge. The game clearly introduces the key characters, events, and concepts. However, players who want to dive deeper into the lore will find that the earlier mainline titles provide valuable context and depth. A tip for story enthusiasts: the spin-offs Resident Evil Outbreak and Outbreak File 2, featuring Alyssa Ashcroft, explore more of her role, the Raccoon City crisis, and the early stages of the outbreaks.
The Resident Evil game series exists of 8 main games:
These games follow the story of Umbrella, from its early days in Raccoon City to modern bioterror threats and the relentless pursuit of survivors. In addition, several spin-offs explore extra perspectives and side stories, such as Outbreak and Outbreak: File 2, where Alyssa Ashcroft experiences the Raccoon City crisis, and Resident Evil: Code Veronica, a long-time fan favourite. Together, these titles weave a rich narrative filled with intriguing characters, important events, deadly viruses, and dark conspiracies.
Ready to return to the city where it all began? Resident Evil Requiem is launched on 27 February 2026. Can’t wait until then? At MediaMarkt, you’ll find all the existing editions of the Resident Evil games – perfect for experiencing the full story and preparing yourself for Resident Evil: Requiem.
The game is released on 27 February 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.
