The next mainline Resident Evil game is nearly here. Resident Evil Requiem arrives in February and according to Capcom, they really want to scare you this time around. It also wants to appeal to longtime fans, so Leon S. Kennedy is back, as well as Raccoon City. Mysterious! Exciting!
In the lead-up to this next major entry in the long-running survival horror franchise, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026, Capcom has put out a lot of information, teasers, and videos to get fans hyped for Resident Evil Requiem. So we’ve catalogued all the important and interesting tidbits into this handy list to help you get all caught up ahead of Requiem’s upcoming release on PC and consoles.
What is Resident Evil Requiem about?
After Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Village focused primarily on new characters and storylines, Capcom is diving back into the classic lore fans are familiar with to help celebrate three decades of Resident Evil.
This time around, players will play as two characters: FBI technical analyst Grace Ashcroft and DSO agent Leon Kennedy. Ashcroft is investigating a series of strange deaths that have occurred at a hotel in Raccoon City. This is the same hotel where her mother, Alyssa, died about a decade before the start of the game. Meanwhile, Kennedy is investigating a different series of strange incidents that might be connected to longtime Resident Evil baddies the Umbrella Corporation. Players will play as both characters, hopping back and forth between them as their stories cross over.
Wait, Leon is in Requiem as a playable character?
Yup. The internet theories surrounding Leon’s inclusion in the upcoming Resident Evil sequel were true! For months, fans speculated that Leon was going to be a playable part of Requiem, despite the creators being coy and cagey about that possibility. Eventually, it leaked out in late 2025 that, yup, Leon is in the game, and Capcom has since confirmed it and is openly talking about his involvement in Requiem. The real question now is, will other veteran Resident Evil characters appear?
When and where is Resident Evil Requiem launching?
Resident Evil Requiem is set to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC on February 27, 2026. The game is skipping PS4 and Xbox One consoles.
Requiem will embrace both first- and third-person
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard was the first mainline RE game to pivot exclusively to a first-person perspective (though the series has had its share of first-person action in earlier spin-offs). Its follow-up, Village, started off in first-person but eventually introduced a third-person option. Requiem will allow you to switch between first- and third-person perspectives at launch.
So if you prefer Resident Evil in first-person, as seen in RE7 and Village, you can stick with that. But if you prefer seeing your character’s butt while they run away from zombies, Requiem has a third-person toggle, too. Interestingly, not only can you swap between these perspectives whenever you want, but you can also choose an option to have Grace’s levels stick to first-person and Leon’s play out in third-person. Or vice-versa. So many options!
Requiem is about ‘addictive fear’ and also RE4-like action
In a special ‘Creators’ Message’ video from Capcom last June, Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi described the philosophy behind the game, and it’s all about establishing an emotional contour that fans of survival horror know very well:
Our core concept for this game was “addictive fear.” There’s something about the catharsis you get from overcoming your fears. It creates an addiction that makes you want to do more, to play more. That intense focus, while scary, makes for a really fun game. This served as our launching point for Requiem.
While RE has largely course-corrected itself back toward horror starting with Biohazard in 2017, this is still music to the ears of us survival horror fans. Of RE’s large cast of characters, many are exceedingly proficient with firearms and, by now, are well acquainted with surviving hordes of zombies and lumbering giants eager to stalk them. Grace, then, with her comparative lack of experience, enters as a way to allow players’ fears to synergize with the character’s emotional state.
Meanwhile, these scarier segments will be broken up by parts in which you play as Leon. In these levels, the action will be more like Resident Evil 4, with the veteran character able to wield shotguns, rifles, and even enemy weapons. At one point in a recent Capcom showcase, we actually see Leon pick up an enemy’s chainsaw and swing it around, finally getting some revenge after years of being chased by lunatics brandishing the deadly tool.
Requiem wants to avoid just letting you shoot your way through zombies
Originally, Capcom thought to center series legend Leon Kennedy, the main character of RE4 and co-protagonist of RE2 and 6, in Requiem. But given how experienced (and likely PTSD-ridden) Kennedy is, it didn’t seem to be a good fit. In the “Creator’s Message” video from last summer, Nakanishi said of Leon Kennedy:
Making a horror game based around [Leon] is difficult. He wouldn’t jump at something like a bucket falling. No one wants to see Leon scared by every little thing. So he’s actually quite a bad match for horror.
That’s how we got our new girl, Grace, as our protagonist for Requiem. But although we have a fresh face ready to scream in terror, Requiem is hoping to avoid just building up to a shooting spree with every baddie. “Of course, there will be boss battles,” Nakashi told Automaton in a joint interview at Tokyo Game Show this year. He continued:
However, rather than defeating enemies in a flashy manner as you progress through the game, like in games that emphasize gun-shooting action, the style is more like Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2, where players expand their exploration area in a closed space and overcome obstacles using their wits.
Are there zombies in Resident Evil Requiem?
Yup. And this time around, Capcom says that they will remember their past lives and try to keep doing what they did before. For example, a hotel maid might still walk around and try to clean mirrors and windows. You’ll be able to use this to your advantage when playing as Grace to sneak around them.
Okay, this all sounds good. I just have one more question: Can I spend $2,000+ on a watch inspired by Resident Evil Requiem?
… uh…weird final question. But also, yeah. For some weird reason, that’s a thing you can do.
