Whether you are a fan of horror games or not, you’re likely to have heard of Resident Evil. This franchise rose to fame in 1996, and has become one of the foundational game series of the horror genre, especially when it comes to survival horror. With over a dozen games in the series, and counting, Resident Evil has left fans screaming and cheering for 30 years and shows no signs of slowing down.
Now, with such a long-running franchise, there comes a lot of history. The announcement of Resident Evil Requiem has excited many fans, old and new, and has thrust fan favourite Leon S Kennedy back into the spotlight for the first time since Resident Evil 6 (not including the Resident Evil 4 remake, as that was not ‘new’ content).
For those just entering into the fray, the lore and history of Resident Evil can be pretty intimidating. With that in mind, this is our crash course on the Resident Evil universe, including everything that relates to the newest game! With Resident Evil Requiem featuring Leon S Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft, we have done a short and sweet, but comprehensive, dive into their past to better prepare you for any lore that may be mentioned.
Please note that the purpose of this timeline is purely to highlight incidents that may be referenced in Resident Evil Requiem that directly relate to the main characters and predominantly explores events from previous games with limited reference to additional media. Some key incidents may be missing as Leon and/or Alyssa and Grace were not present at the time.
1993
1998
– September 23rd would see Alyssa facing off against the undead at the height of the t-virus outbreak. She would go on to escape with her collected detailed notes and testimonies before escaping the city prior to its destruction.
– The 29th of September sees Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield thrust into the nightmare that Racoon City has become. After facing off with the undead for hours, the two narrowly escape, alongside Sherry Birkin, as a missile strike hits Raccoon City and everything within the city limits is wiped out.
– Post incident – Leon is recruited to join STRATCOM after he was deemed a liability due to his knowledge of the Raccoon City incident.
– Alyssa Ashcroft releases an expose that reveals the truth behind Umbrella and their involvement in the destruction of Raccoon City.
2002
– Leon and Jack Krauser are deployed to South America on a mission to prevent the spread of the t-virus and prevent the selling of bio-organic weapons.
2004
– Ashley Graham, the President’s daughter, is kidnapped, and Leon is deployed to save her. During this time he is infected with the Las Plagas parasite. After a tireless investigation, Leon eventually locates Ashley, who has also been infected. The two of them work together, alongside Luis Sera who is revealed to be an ex-Umbrella scientist, to extract the plague and cure themselves of the parasite.
2016
– Alyssa Ashcroft releases another article surrounding some mysterious disappearances in a town in Louisiana. This article is the only public account of the biological disaster, which implies there was a cover-up and these disappearances were ignored.
2026
– Grace, Alyssa’s daughter, and Leon make their way to the Wrenwood Hotel to investigate when it once again becomes the center of suspicion due to a series of new murders.
And so…
Fans, especially myself, are excited to see this older and clearly very jaded version of Leon. It is vastly different from the rookie cop we saw in Resident Evil 2, the sassy soldier boy in Resident Evil 4, and the sarcastic and confident agent we saw in Resident Evil 6. Since the return to the roots of the franchise in Resident Evil 7, we have not seen Leon put into a proper survival horror game.
The teasers for the game promise all of the scares of 7, with Leon’s charm and witty humour. The addition of Grace is very exciting to see, as it brings a potential new female lead to the franchise and adds a different element to the game. It’s pitched that from Leon’s POV there will be more action (due to things not really scaring him anymore), while there will be a stronger focus on the horror element in Grace’s sections.
Either way, this game is one of the most anticipated horror games of 2026 with good reason. I, like many others, am very excited to see where this will take the franchise’s future. Our only hope is that we don’t lose one of our most beloved characters along the way.
Resident Evil Requiem is out February 27 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.
