If you’re well into following video game news, you’re likely going to see a lot of new information about Resident Evil 9/Requiem today – to be clear, Capcom has done its usual trick of giving the game a title, but changing a letter (q in this instance) to the entry number in its reveal trailer. Over the weekend, hundreds of critics and influencers filed into a darkened theatre to witness a pre-recorded first gameplay video of Summer Games Fest’s biggest reveal. But hidden just meters away was something even better: a hands-on demo that only a handful of people got to play.
Resident Evil Requiem/9Developer: CapcomPublisher: CapcomAvailability: Releases 27th February 2026 on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Sitting in the top secret hands-on room, I could hear the theatre crowds animatedly screeching and oofing with delight and disgust through the Capcom stand’s flimsy walls. But those porous walls go both ways. A little bit after leaving the Resident Evil 9 hands-on, my phone buzzes – a text from a friend and a colleague who was in Capcom’s stand at the same time.
“” the text reads. Which is funny. But, well, yes. Quite. True. This embarrassing anecdote, I hope, speaks to Resident Evil 9’s ability to fright.
Resident Evil Requiem – Official Reveal Trailer | Summer Game Fest 2025 Watch on YouTube
The funny thing about this Resident Evil 9 demo is that it is, to be fair, quite familiar. It’s immediately reminiscent of some of the earliest demos of Resident Evil 7. New protagonist Grace Ashcroft finds herself in a claustrophobic space with a deadly stalker enemy coming after her. Players have to solve puzzles and avoid or escape the stalker to survive.