A new trailer for Resident Evil Requiem debuted at The Game Awards 2025, and it finally confirmed what many of us already knew: iconic series protagonist Leon S. Kennedy has returned as a playable character.
What fans may not have expected to see was Mr. Kennedy chopping up zombies with an axe and carving them up with a chainsaw – the latter weapon seemingly an homage to beloved Resident Evil 4.
The video opens with protagonist Grace Ashcroft confronted by the creepy-faced man seen briefly in the previous trailer, who we now know is named Victor Gideon.
Gideon appears to be the game’s major villain, and seems to have links to the Resident Evil franchise’s sinister pharmaceutical company, Umbrella. He mentions that “Elpis,” which sounds like a new virus, can be “set free” through Grace.
Resident Evil release date
Resident Evil Requiem will launch on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Steam on February 27th, 2026.
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Written by Reece Heather
A lifelong Nintendo fan and a longtime editor at Zelda Universe, Reece will forever be grateful that he somehow dodged the Naughty List of Christmas 1998, when Santa delivered the life-changing gift of a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Mario Kart 64. When he's not playing games, Reece is usually reading Punisher comics, delving helplessly into the weirdest depths of anime and manga, or spending time with his cocker spaniel Gracie -- the goodest girl ever!
