Grace Ashcroft — the latest protagonist in the Resident Evil series, holds a DARK SECRET that most players don’t know about! 😱 What is she hiding?
That said, it’s been a while since Resident Evil produced an original game that continued the main timeline of the franchise. Resident Evil Village came out in 2021 and finished off the Winters family’s story. Since Village, fans have been eager to see what Resident Evil 9 will hold. The Resident Evil Requiem reveal trailer offered fans a first look at the new game, as well as a release date of Feb. 27, 2026.
Resident Evil 9 Introduces Grace Ashcroft
A New Playable Protagonist Enters the Fold
Leaks and speculation about Resident Evil 9 have been floating around social media for a while now. Most leaks seemed to confirm that fan-favorite Leon S. Kennedy (introduced in Resident Evil 2 and the main character of Resident Evil 4) would be returning as the lead. Some leakers also speculated that Jill Valentine, a former member of S.T.A.R.S., would also make an appearance, likely working alongside Leon.
So, when the Resident Evil Requiem reveal trailer aired at the Summer Game Fest event, fans were shocked to see a brand-new character taking center stage. Most of the reveal trailer focuses on Grace Ashcroft, a technical analyst who works for the FBI. Grace, along with other agents, has been investigating a series of mysterious deaths that seem to be linked by signs of sharing a similar disease. This comes as no shock in the Resident Evil universe.
In the reveal trailer, Grace’s superior pulls her away from her cubicle, where she’s working on a report titled “Incident: Fourth Victim of Unidentified Disease.” Grace believes her unnamed superior calls her into his office to complain about her taking too long with a report he asked for. He tells her not to worry about the report because another body has cropped up.
He talks about the body matching the same pathology as the other victims, leading viewers to believe that this body is the fifth victim of the unidentified disease that Grace was writing about. Her superior says that he needs a good technical analyst to investigate the case, and that means Grace. As mentioned, the reveal trailer mostly focuses on Grace, so other major characters have been kept hidden. Most fans still suspect that Leon S. Kennedy will make an appearance in the game.
Grace’s Origins Date Back to Resident Evil Outbreak
The Trailer Mentions Grace’s Mother & Long-term RE Fans Have Already Met Her
If the name Ashcroft sounds familiar, that’s because long-time Resident Evil players have played an Ashcroft before. Alyssa Ashcroft was an investigative reporter who worked for The Raccoon Press. Alyssa is a playable character in Resident Evil Outbreak, a survival horror game that allowed players to play alone or online. It was the first Resident Evil game to feature online gameplay, and it had several “scenarios” players could go through. These scenarios include the first few hours of Raccoon City’s downfall, escaping an underground Umbrella facility, and so on. Alyssa was one of eight playable characters.
Grace’s introduction comes as a bit of a shock. While Alyssa was a playable character in Outbreak and has been mentioned a few times in games like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, she’s an easy character to overlook. Outbreak is an old game, and it isn’t a “main RE timeline” game either, so many fans, especially players who came along later into the franchise’s development, may not even know who Alyssa is.
“I need your eyes on the crime scene. The Wrenwood Hotel. I know that’s where your mother was murdered. Alyssa died 8 years ago. Perhaps it’s time for you to face the past. Grace.” – RE9 reveal trailer
In Outbreak, Alyssa was one of a few Raccoon City residents who actually escaped the city, narrowly avoiding the nuke that destroyed everything to keep Umbrella’s virus from spreading. The Raccoon City incident happened in 1998. Alyssa was assumed to be around 28 years old at the time of the Raccoon City incident. Some time after escaping the city, she gave birth to Grace.
Currently, we don’t have an official timeline of these events, but Alyssa likely got pregnant soon after the Raccoon City incident. 27 years have passed since Raccoon City was destroyed and, since Grace is already a technical analyst with the FBI, she’s likely at least in her mid-20s. According to the Resident Evil Requiem reveal trailer, Alyssa was murdered eight years before the events of Requiem.
For obvious reasons, the trailer doesn’t break down who killed Alyssa, how she died, or why someone wanted her dead. As an investigative reporter who focuses on a lot of social cases and survived the Raccoon City outbreak, there are probably plenty of people who want to silence her. All fans currently know is that Alyssa was investigating the Wrenwood Hotel when she was murdered. Grace was likely in her late teens when her mother died, which might have helped fuel her decision to join the FBI.
Unfortunately, fans won’t know much about Alyssa’s story after the events of Outbreak or her murder until the game comes out. Since Grace will be investigating the same hotel where her mother died, it’s safe to say that at least part of the main story will focus on Grace uncovering the truth about what happened to her mother. Alyssa’s death likely links back to the bigger Resident Evil picture that somehow always comes back to the Umbrella Corporation or one of the organizations that desperately tried to follow in Umbrella’s footsteps.
If fans are right about the mysterious hooded figure in the flashback being Leon, fans can assume that Leon had something to do with Alyssa’s death. If Leon was at the Wrenwood Hotel, then he was probably also investigating and dealing with some sort of threat of another virus or outbreak. While it’s unlikely that Leon is responsible for Alyssa’s death, if Alyssa was infected with something, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Leon was forced to put her down.
