Resident Evil Requiem: The Risky Pivot That Could Define ...

Resident Evil Requiem's Origins Could Change The Series Forever

Young Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem.

By Steven Garrard Published 17 minutes ago Steven is a seasoned writer specializing in the video game and technological fields, with years of experience creating reviews, features, and industry analysis. Passionate about the gaming world and its evolving culture, Steven always wanted to combine his enjoyment of writing and love for gaming in a way that can provide insightful coverage for players and enthusiasts alike, striving to provide this since he joined Screenrant in 2024. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Taking players all the way back to Racoon City, Resident Evil Requiem has already received plenty of praise for returning to the roots of what made the series so popular, while incorporating elements from its more recent successes. Although the combined direction and horror-focused gameplay of Requiem looks like a perfect follow-up for the series, it could have looked drastically different.

While Capcom is taking a risky move by introducing a whole new protagonist for Requiem to follow with Grace Ashcroft, it seems to follow a similar story to some of the best entries in the series. Plenty of Easter eggs and promises from the developers have raised hopes that Requiem will be another smashing success for Capcom, but its original plans could have been a massive blow to the series' winning streak.

RE9 Was Almost An Online Multiplayer Shooter

A Drastic Change For The Iconic Survival-Horror Series

A screenshot of Grace looking at her computer in Resident Evil Requiem.

One of the very first rumors about Resident Evil Requiem was that it would be a multiplayer-focused open-world game, and while these claims seemed ridiculous at first, the developers revealed back in June that they were completely true. Being eerily similar to the messy Resident Evil 6, Capcom thankfully dialed back the project into something more familiar for Resident Evil fans.

Requiem's developers described the early version as an "open-world with multiple protagonists and extreme action combat", as noted by VideoGamer. This concept of the game seemed to be even closer to a spiritual successor of the original Resident Evil Outbreak, as it even included a countdown timer at the top of the screen.

With how drastically different Resident Evil Requiem looks to the original leaked footage from its multiplayer looter shooter experience, it's not hard to see how Requiem took so long to develop compared to previous entries in the series.

Even if the blockbuster action of Requiem's original multiplayer concept sounds like a far cry from what you might expect from the Resident Evil franchise, it's not exactly a new concept for the series. Released around major entries in the series over the years, Resident Evil has seen several multiplayer-first titles over the years, each of which has received massive backlash from fans and critics alike.

While the co-op aspect of Resident Evil 6 still has some merit all these years later, the PvP gameplay of games like Umbrella Corps and the PvPvE style of Resident Evil Resistance hasn't done the series any favors. Outside of a few fun moments with friends and your favorite characters, the approach is largely forgettable

Requiem Devs Made The Right Call (Hopefully)

Sticking With What Makes The Resident Evil Series So Beloved

Raccoon City police department destroyed

Even if Capcom has come a long way towards innovating the Resident Evil series while still staying true to its survival horror origins, it's hard to see the original image of Requiem being anything but a disaster for the franchise. While there is still plenty of room for the more action-focused elements that Capcom aims to provide in the latest entry, it only works as a complement to the tension-filled atmosphere.

The removal of Requiem's multiplayer focus does have the negative effect of significantly reducing its cast of playable characters, meaning we likely won't get a massive character reunion like in Resident Evil 6. Even if it's a shame to have to wait longer for another entry with each fan-favorite character included, Capcom's past attempts haven't exactly gone over too well.

This isn't to say that an open-world survival game taking place in Racoon City doesn't sound like a terrible idea on its own, but it would have been a massive departure for a mainline entry in the series. Hopefully, some elements from Requiem's canceled concepts could still make their way into a future spinoff entry, or even a DLC that learns from the mistakes of its PvP predecessors.

RE Requiem's Success Will Determine The Future Of The Series

Resident Evil 10 Could Look Drastically Different Depending On Requiem

Resident Evil Requiem Alyssa.

With the original intent for Resident Evil Requiem being so heavily focused on delivering an action-packed live-service multiplayer experience, Capcom will likely be paying even closer attention to the success of its latest entry to determine where to go with the future of the series. If it doesn't pan out, the company could decide to go through with a more drastic change.

Having actively responded to the criticism of past games and trying to hone in on what fans want from the series and helping to shape future entries in turn, Requiem could be a massive turning point for the franchise as a whole. With Requiem already experimenting with a combined first and third-person perspective throughout the whole story, it's likely not the only mechanic that could be a mainstay for the series moving forward.

While many horror franchises have attempted to ride the popularity of their live-service counterparts to varying degrees of success, Capcom's mixed record fails to match up to the high expectations of its iconic single-player experiences, with co-op modes in games like Resident Evil 5 being an exception to the rule.

Although it's far too early to tell whether Requiem's shift in direction will be able to match up against Capcom's recent winning streak, it's clear that Capcom still seems to understand how essentially the core horror aspects of the series are to its success. Resident Evil Requiem rides a fine line between action and horror that could redefine the series for years to come.

Resident Evil Requiem

Like Survival Horror Action Adventure Shooter Systems PC-1

OpenCritic Reviews Released February 27, 2026 ESRB Rating Pending Developer(s) Capcom Publisher(s) Capcom Engine RE Engine Franchise Resident Evil re-requiem-official-trailer-screenshot-ruined-rcpd-feature-sized.jpg

re-requiem-official-trailer-screenshot-ruined-rcpd-feature-sized.jpg

7 Images

Genre(s) Survival Horror, Action, Adventure, Shooter Powered by Expand Collapse

Gaming
Resident Evil 9
PC Games

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