Resident Evil Hinted At RE9’s Main Character 8 Years Ago

After a long wait, Resident Evil 9 was finally revealed as Resident Evil Requiem, with a trailer at the 2025 Summer Game Fest. There was actually a gameplay showcase shown behind closed doors at the event that we sadly won’t get a glimpse of until later this Summer. The game’s coming out on February 27, 2026, and while it looks incredibly promising, some might be perplexed by the main character, Grace Ashcroft.

Many were expecting a returning character like Leon S. Kennedy, who doesn’t appear directly in the trailer. Grace actually has ties to the older RE games, but unless you’re a hardcore fan, you probably wouldn’t have noticed. However, even for hardcore fans, this daughter of a beloved character shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, given a hint in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard back in 2017.

RE9’s Lead Character Has A Fascinating Resident Evil Connection

A Blast From The Past Is Coming In Requiem

When Grace Ashcroft was revealed live during the Summer Game Fest stream, I knew it sounded familiar, but I still wasn’t sure if this was Resident Evil 9. It turns out Grace Ashcroft is the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft from Resident Evil Outbreak. The Outbreak games have to be the most underrated Resident Evil titles, and Alyssa proved to be a fan favorite among the roster. She had a lockpick, allowing her to enter most locked rooms without needing to find the key.

It took a while for locked doors to open via this method, but it was still incredibly useful. Outbreak also took place in Raccoon City, the once quiet, peaceful town that players explored throughout the original Resident Evil trilogy. Raccoon City is back in Resident Evil Requiem, so it makes sense to feature a lead character with ties to this iconic location.

From the trailer, it appears that Grace has a dark past, likely related to her mother, and this should be explored in the finished game. While the Outbreak callback is awesome to see, Capcom was likely planning this for quite some time.

The Seeds Were Planted 8 Years Ago

Resident Evil Requiem is not the first newer RE game to mention Alyssa Ashcroft in some capacity. In fact, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard did it first, and even at the time, this was a great Easter egg, but it’s even more interesting in hindsight. In a file present in the Baker family house main hall, you’ll find a 2016 report by Alyssa Ashcroft detailing the numerous disappearances in South Louisiana.

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It’s interesting to see this legacy protagonist report on what’s going down in the Resident Evil universe, and this was one of the only mentions of prior RE characters in the game. Looking back, this Easter egg was very much setting up Resident Evil 9, and with Alyssa still being active in 2016, it’ll be interesting to see what happened to her after that date. Did Alyssa have an encounter with the Molded after looking into the South Louisiana disappearances?

After all, Alyssa only appears in brief flashbacks in the trailer, with her daughter Grace filling in the spot as the protagonist. It’s also worth noting that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Requiem share the same director, Koshi Nakanishi. That may have played a role in the Ashcroft family returning in Capcom’s newest RE game. There are still many questions surrounding Resident Evil Requiem regarding its story, gameplay, and characters, but the new protagonist is something hardcore fans should have seen coming, based on what was shown in Resident Evil 7.