I'm easily scared, but I still love a good murder mystery. So, even though I yelped and nearly jumped out of my chair watching the gameplay preview for Resident Evil Requiem at Summer Game Fest earlier this year (and again during my own demo session at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany), I still wanted to know what was going to happen to newbie FBI intelligence analyst Grace Ashcroft as she investigates a mysterious death in the same hotel where her mother was killed eight years ago.
In a backroom of the Koelnmasse convention center away from fans wandering Gamescom 2025, I sat with Kōshi Nakanishi, the game's director who also headlined previous games in the franchise such as Resident Evil: Revelations and Resident Evil 7, and Masato Kumazawa, the game's producer, to explore the team's intent to refocus the next game on drawing more potential fans to the horror franchise.
We spoke about the game's mysterious title, its cinematic influences, if the protagonist ever gets weapons, the role of community in the Resident Evil franchise -- and whether they prefer to play their upcoming game in first-person or third-person mode.
This interview was conducted via interpreter and has been edited for length and clarity.
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A chat with Resident Evil 9 Requiem's director and producer
Faith Chihil (CNET): I first saw the trailer at Summer Game Fest and even screamed a little in the preview. Why do you two like to scare people?
Kōshi Nakanishi (Capcom): [Laughing] Well, there are people who want to be scared when they play a game!
FC: I'm normally too scared to play some of your games, but what really intrigued me about this is the idea of it being a murder mystery. It seemed like there were some influences from The Silence of the Lambs or even The X-Files. Are there any new inspirations you're bringing to the Resident Evil canon?
KN: It's really great to hear you say that because our exact aim was to try and intrigue people who don't normally play Resident Evil games, add some different elements so that they might want to play even if they think it's normally not for them. In addition to the works you just mentioned, the work of David Fincher is something where I love to try and aim for that mood. You know, the way his movies are shot, that kind of dark atmosphere.
Exactly as you said, I want people to understand that it's a suspense, it's a mystery, there's more to it than just horror all the time. So, it's really a great blend of things. If more people think like that then hopefully it would be really successful.
FC: I love Se7en! [room laughs] When I think of "requiem," I think of the classic definition of a Mass for the dead, remembering somebody who's passed away, or just having a remembrance in honor of someone. Does that hint at a new perspective at how we're looking at undead things, maybe, for the Resident Evil story?
KN: Yeah, one of the motifs is that we're going back to the Raccoon City incident, which you know is the starting point for the whole series, it's the event that happens in the first game. Alyssa [Grace's mother] herself is obviously one victim of that tragedy, and the zombies that you meet in Resident Evil are themselves victims of a tragedy. They're undead people who essentially have been killed or not quite killed by this incident. And we're now taking the chance thirty years later to go back and visit that storyline, exactly as you said, to have a requiem for those people.
Masato Kumazawa (Capcom): As a development team, all of us have our own definition, or take, on what exactly the requiem part of the title means, but I think that once you finally sit down and play the full game once it's released, it'll be a great experience. And the title, or the meaning of the title, will become clear.
FC: So, the main character's name is Grace Ashcroft, and since my name is Faith, I just wanted to know: is Grace going to be the main character you're playing through the whole game?
MK: We're not going through all the gameplay details or how it works yet, but the entire game is based around Grace and her journey. You're going to join Grace on her journey and see how she starts from the terrifying beginning of the storyline and what kind of journey she goes on. So, she's the basis of the entire game. [Kumazawa gave me a cheeky thumbs up after the translator finished.]
Kōshi Nakanishi, direct of Resident Evil Reqiuem (left), with producer Masato Kumazawa (right) giving a thumbs up. Faith Chihil / CNET
FC: In the previews in March at SGF, most of the sequence is without weapons. Is that also going to be a theme of the game -- surviving without weapons?
KN: No, I don't know if you played Resident Evil 7 [Author's note: I have not, it was too scary], but we start you off by throwing you into the deep end. The character has been stripped of their weapons and defense mechanisms. They're completely defenseless; it's a terrifying situation they're in. But gradually, you're going to be able to get weapons and defend yourself more.
Again, you'll be in Grace's shoes as you feel like someone who goes from defenseless and terrified to someone who gets stronger and more and more able to take on the horrors that await. Then, toward the second half of the game, you have more and more weapons to help you deal with what you're going to face. You'll feel that progression and that kind of growth and development as you play the game.
FC: Towards the development itself, can you talk a little bit about the technical advancements? There's been a lot of talk about the technical advancements that Capcom has made for this game. Is there an example of this focus for Resident Evil?
MK: Yeah, we're always developing our internal technology and even compared to some recent games like Resident Evil Village and the remake of Resident Evil 4, I think you'll find that our RE engine has gone from strength to strength. A particular focus for us in this title, in addition to things like varied lighting and great mood, Grace's hair looks amazing. It's very finely detailed, the way it glows in the lights. The way her facial expressions look and how she has like a sheen of sweat on her. All of those things are going to the next level in this game.
KN: We're also using the latest technologies like ray tracing, and with certain platforms, path tracing as well, which we've shown off yesterday [at] an Nvidia event where you can see how great the game looks on PC with path trace lighting, that way it's an amazing 3D atmosphere. We're really trying to push the boundaries of technology here, how much we can make the game a really immersive experience.
FC: Nakanishi-san, you've previously mentioned in other interviews that there was an original development idea of maybe something online or open-world [Kumazawa chuckled at this], but it didn't feel right for the fans, so you went with a different direction. But do you think there is still an opportunity for community within the Resident Evil franchise, whether it's within the game itself or a side technology?
KN: Yeah, even though the games are fundamentally single-player, actually we have a really great, vibrant Resident Evil community who form around these games. Even though they're not playing together at the same time, everyone loves to share their experiences with each other so we're very lucky that we have a very supportive and passionate fan base.
That great thing today is that you don't need to play the game at the same time together to experience it online together. I remember back when the original games came out, there used to be great social experiences; it was like getting together for a scary movie night with your friends. Even if only one person is playing, everyone was gathering around the couch and watched them play and get into it together and you know, be scared together. Now we have such huge numbers of streamers and community content creators who stream the game online or upload videos, and people love to join in the stream, join in the chat and discuss it together. It really feels like that community spirit is there, even if the game itself is not an online title.
MK: We've also seen from the game's announcement at Summer Game Fest this year the community have been discussing passionately, they've been speculating, hopping on the forums and social media to debate and discuss what they think's going to be in it, what's not going to be in it. So, it's a great focal point for a community.
FC: Do you prefer the first-person or third-person mode when you play?
KN: It's a difficult question because they both have their strengths, and being able to see Grace on screen and trying to put yourself in the shoes of the character is a great story experience. Whereas, first-person is very immersive and frightening. Personally, if I have to choose one, I'd probably play first-person for the immersion.
MK: I prefer third-person because I like to be able to see the character on screen and relate to them and see their expressions. But you know, as the development team, we've obviously worked hard to make sure the game works great whichever one you want to choose. So, there's no need to feel like you have to stick to one; feel free to try both.
KN: I agree, definitely switch it around freely and find the one you like best.
Main character Grace Ashcroft faces off against a terrifying monster in the playable demo, still just as frightening in third-person as it is in first-person. And yes, I set the brightness levels to maximum while playing. Capcom
FC: Last question: Do you remember what your first horror video game was?
KN: (sitting back and thinking hard, he gestures to Kumazawa to go first.)
MK: For me, it was Resident Evil 2 on the original PlayStation.
KN: I'm sure that I played some before the original Resident Evil, because in Japan, the sound novel was a popular genre -- it was essentially text-based with audio, and there were games like Kamaitachi no Yoru, which I don't think was released in the West, that were like scary games. But the one that sticks out in my mind was actually the original Resident Evil because I wasn't working for Capcom back then, I was just a player. Because I was so familiar with this sound- or text-based games that were like interactive books, seeing this 3D space depicted for the first time, where you could move through the space and feel like you were really in the movie, was really impactful.
Resident Evil Requiem comes to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on Feb. 27, 2026.