A new trailer for Resident Evil Requiem was shown at The Game Awards this evening, confirming one of this year’s worst-kept secrets: Leon S. Kennedy will indeed appear in the game. Capcom had already hinted at his involvement earlier this week by revealing the game’s cover art, but the latest trailer goes a step further, confirming Leon as a playable character alongside Grace Ashcroft.
While Grace's storyline will take players through a survival horror experience, Leon "will deliver explosive action."
Leon is one of Resident Evil's most iconic and beloved characters. Making his debut in 1998's Resident Evil 2, Leon is introduced as a young rookie police officer arriving in Raccoon City for his first day on the job at the Raccoon City Police Department. In 2005's Resident Evil 4, he had been promoted to a seasoned special agent working directly for the U.S. government.
We're not sure what his exact role in Resident Evil Requiem will be, but he's certainly looking more hardened, and perhaps wearier. Despite leaking Leon's appearance earlier this week, Capcom had not officially confirmed it until tonight's trailer.
The ninth installment in Capcom's popular Resident Evil survival horror series, Resident Evil Requiem is set 30 years after the destruction of Raccoon City. Players will return to the overgrown ruins of Raccoon City as new protagonist Grace Ashcroft, an FBI analyst who's called in to investigate the death of a victim of an unidentifiable death at an abandoned hotel — the very same hotel where her mother died eight years ago.
"Grace prepares to finally face the past and makes her way to the scene, but this one case leads to uncovering the hidden truth behind the outbreak in Raccoon City, the biological disaster that shook the world," the synopsis teases. "Will this be the requiem that finally lays the memories of that abhorrent disaster to rest?"
Resident Evil Requiem will retain the series' signature classic survival horror elements through combat, investigations, puzzle-solving, and resource management. However, for the first time in the franchise, players are freely able to switch between first and third-person perspective.
Resident Evil Requiem is schedule to release on February 27, 2026. Pre-orders are now available for both the Standard Edition ($69.99) and Deluxe Edition ($79.99), which contains the following additional content:
- Five costumes including Grace's Costume: Dimitrescu
- Two filters including Filter: Apocalypse
- Four weapon skins including S&S M232 Weapon Skin: Apocalypse
- Two charms including Charm: Mr. Raccoon
- Audio Pack: Raccoon City Classic
- Files: Letters from 1998