The wait for Resident Evil 9—officially titled Resident Evil Requiem—is almost over. February 27, 2026, is the date every horror fan has circled on their calendar. But while everyone is losing their minds over Leon S. Kennedy returning with a chainsaw, there is a lot of confusion about the actual star of the show.
Her name is Grace Ashcroft.
If you’re scratching your head wondering if you missed a game, don't worry. You didn't. She’s a brand-new face, but her DNA is literally baked into the deepest lore of this franchise. Honestly, Capcom is doing something really ballsy here. They’re taking us back to the ruins of Raccoon City, 30 years after the nuke, and they're handing the keys to an FBI technical analyst who isn't a super-soldier.
Who is Grace Ashcroft, anyway?
Grace isn't just a random rookie. She is the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, the investigative journalist from Resident Evil Outbreak. For the uninitiated, Alyssa was one of the few who survived the original Raccoon City nightmare.
Basically, the story kicks off when Grace is pulled from her desk at the FBI. Her boss drops a bombshell: a string of weird deaths has cropped up at the Wrenwood Hotel. That’s the exact spot where Alyssa was murdered eight years prior. Grace isn't going in to save the world; she’s going in to find out why her mother died in a city that’s supposed to be a radioactive wasteland.
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Kinda heavy, right?
Unlike Leon, who basically treats a zombie outbreak like a Tuesday at the office, Grace is terrified. Capcom producer Masato Kumazawa has been pretty vocal about making her "vulnerable." She’s an introvert. She’s a bookworm. She gets startled by loud noises. In a series that’s lately felt like an action movie, Grace is a return to that "I have three bullets and I'm shaking" energy we haven't truly felt since the early games.
Why her gameplay feels so different
If you've watched the recent trailers or caught the Resident Evil Showcase earlier this month, you’ve seen the contrast. Leon's sections are high-octane third-person action. But when you play as Grace? It’s pure survival horror.
- Stealth over Strength: Grace can hide under tables and crouch behind debris to avoid the "stalker" monster that follows her (very Mr. X vibes).
- The Lighter Mechanic: She carries a lighter to see in the dark, but here’s the catch: the light attracts enemies.
- Ink Ribbons are back: On the "Standard (Classic)" difficulty, Grace—and only Grace—has to find ink ribbons to save at typewriters. Leon doesn't have to deal with that.
- The Requiem Revolver: Her main weapon is a scarce revolver. You aren't finding crates of ammo for this thing.
One of the weirdest details we’ve learned is the crafting system. Grace has to collect infected blood from fallen enemies. She uses it to craft tools or even "blood bombs" that make enemies explode. It’s grisly and feels way more desperate than just "mixing green herb with red herb."
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The Raccoon City connection
We’re going back to the RPD and the streets of Raccoon City. But it’s not the 1998 version. It’s a 2026 version—overgrown, silent, and supposedly "cleansed."
There's a lot of talk about Elpis. In Greek myth, Elpis was the spirit of hope. In the game, it seems to be the codename for whatever virus or "unidentified disease" is turning people into these weird, lucid zombies. Yeah, you read that right. Some of the zombies in Requiem can actually talk. One trailer showed a zombie custodian still trying to clean the floors. It’s haunting in a way the series hasn't really explored before.
What most people are missing
There is a wild theory floating around Reddit and some lore channels like The Sphere Hunter about Grace's origin. In the second trailer, there’s a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of a little girl and a massive "Hag" monster. People are speculating that Grace might not be Alyssa’s biological daughter in the traditional sense.
The villain, Dr. Victor Gideon, actually tells Grace she's the "chosen one" and that she's "not like the others." If Grace is some sort of successful clone or a biological legacy of whatever Alyssa was investigating, it explains why the FBI is so keen on sending a "desk analyst" into a literal death trap.
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How to prepare for the launch
If you're planning on picking this up on February 27, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, this game is coming to everything: PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, and even the Nintendo Switch 2.
Capcom is also leaning hard into the "collector" side of things this year. They've partnered with Hamilton Watch Co. to make 2,000 real-life versions of the watches Grace and Leon wear in the game. There’s even a Grace Ashcroft amiibo coming in the summer.
Actionable Steps for Fans:
- Check your specs: If you're on PC, make sure you're ready for the RE Engine’s latest upgrades, especially the new lighting tech used for Grace's first-person segments.
- Revisit Outbreak: You don't need to play the old PS2 games, but knowing Alyssa Ashcroft’s history makes Grace’s journey way more impactful.
- Watch the January 15 Showcase: If you missed it, go back and watch the "lucid zombie" segment. It completely changes how you'll approach combat.
This isn't just another Resident Evil. It feels like a changing of the guard. By pairing a legendary veteran like Leon with a complete outsider like Grace, Capcom is trying to satisfy the action junkies and the old-school horror purists at the same time. Whether they can pull off that balance remains to be seen, but Grace Ashcroft is definitely the most interesting thing to happen to this series in years.