Resident Evil Requiem's unveiling at the Summer Game Fest was one of the biggest and most welcome announcements of the event. Following an extended period of official silence from Capcom surrounded by ubiquitous rumors and leaks about the ninth mainline entry, Resident Evil Requiem is now set to release on February 27, 2026. The trailer teased a new protagonist and a familiar, yet drastically changed, iconic series location along with a shift in tone.
Most notably, Resident Evil Requiem looks more psychological horror in nature, something the franchise has frequently touched on but never quite fully embraced. It's also introducing a new character, Grace Ashcroft, who has connections to a previous RE character, though a lesser-known one compared to mascots like Leon or Jill. However, while Requiem's story setup and setting are intriguing, these directions may also mean it might not address a big open plot point from the end of RE Village.
Spoilers for Resident Evil 7 and Village below.
Resident Evil Requiem: How Lisa Trevor Can Return
Resident Evil Requiem has a number of callbacks from previous games, and it's possible that Lisa Trevor may make a comeback, too.
Resident Evil Requiem May Leave RE Village's BSAA Cliffhanger Unresolved
Sometime before the events of RE7, Resident Evil hero Chris Redfield began working with an ostensibly reformed version of RE's longtime villainous company, known as Blue Umbrella, in association with the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA). Chris was brought on as an expert to head a joint operation between the organizations, though he retained suspicions that this new Umbrella was still up to the same nefarious tricks as its previous incarnation.
Chris Redfield and the BSAA in Village
By the time of Resident Evil Village, Chris and the Hound Wolf Squad seemed to be semi-autonomous, operating only loosely within the bounds of Blue Umbrella and the BSAA. Chris was tasked with protecting Ethan Winters and his family, and the Squad was sent in to contain and halt the horror that Mother Miranda was unleashing. At the climax of Village, as Chris and the survivors are evacuating in a helicopter, one of the soldiers is suddenly revealed to be a Bio-Organic Weapon, seemingly confirming Chris' doubts and seriously calling into question Blue Umbrella and the BSAA's intentions. Chris is then heard ordering the pilot to make for BSAA headquarters in Europe, likely to demand explanations, just before the credits roll.
Why Resident Evil Requiem May Not Address the BSAA Point from Village
Resident Evil Requiem will bring fans back to Raccoon City years after it was bombed to contain the original viral outbreak. It also appears that it will be a more personal story centered on Grace, whose mother, RE: Outbreak's Alyssa Ashcroft, was supposedly murdered in the city eight years prior. Grace, an FBI analyst, is called in to investigate a series of mysterious deaths that may be connected to her mother's killing.
Within all this, though, there's no hint of Blue Umbrella, the BSAA, Chris, or anything else that occurred during Village. By all accounts so far, Requiem is a completely fresh story, and while the premise of exploring the ruins of Raccoon City in a psych-horror framework holds a lot of promise, it also seems to be entirely disconnected from Village. Based on all the information known at this point, it doesn't look likely that Resident Evil Requiem will circle back to the BSAA or Chris' search for answers.
Of course, it's always possible that Capcom will surprise players again in a similar way to Chris showing up in Resident Evil 7 and again in Village. There are rumors that Leon Kennedy will be the main protagonist of RE Requiem, and though yet to be confirmed, the developer is likely to reveal more on this at the upcoming Capcom Showcase taking place on June 26. It could be the case that Requiem will indeed tie into the above somehow, even if perhaps just in passing mention or another credit stinger. Fans will simply have to wait for now to see what, if any, connections there will be between Village, the BSAA, and Requiem's plot.
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