Koshi Nakanishi, the director on Resident Evil Requiem, has revealed during an interview on the Japanese PlayStation Blog that development on the upcoming survival horror title began about six years ago, albeit on a small scale and didn’t evolve into the game we know today unit about three years ago.
It’s well known by this point that Resident Evil Requiem went through a number of different phases, and was originally set to be a multiplayer title before transitioning into the single-player horror romp that we know today. In fact, PSU recently went hands-on with the game for about three hours, so be sure to read our impressions if you haven’t already done so.
Development started on a small scale six years ago. However, the current form that everyone has now played came to be about three years ago. We started development after the apparent conclusion of Ethan’s story with Resident Evil 7, and what would be the eighth numbered title, Resident Evil Village.
We’re thankful that Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 8 received high praise, but they were written to be somewhat disconnected from the story up through Resident Evil 6. Because of this, we began work on this project as we thought it was about time to get back to that story.
Dusk Golem, an insider well known for leaking details on upcoming Resident Evil projects, had previously claimed that one of the early builds for Resident Evil 9 (as it was referred to back then) would have taken place on an island in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, YouTuber Residence of Evil stated in November 2024 that the game would take place four years after Resident Evil Village, and feature both Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy, with Chris Redfield and Barry Burton backing them up. Dusk Golem however soon debunked these reports, stating that Jill would not play any major role in the game. He earlier stated that Resident Evil 9 boasts the larger budget in the franchise to date.
Resident Evil Requiem is slated to launch on February 27, 2026 for PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. The game is set 30 years after the events of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and sees FBI agent Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak’s Alyssa, investigating a series of murders at a hotel, the same place her mother was killed. Leon is also conducting his own investigation of ex-Umbrella scientist Victor Gideon, which at some point takes players back to the ruins of Raccoon City.
[Source – PlayStation Blog Japan via GamesRadar]