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Horror heads endured quite the rollercoaster during last night's Summer Game Fest 2025 keynote, and it's all because of what can only be viewed as some sort of deranged prank from the minds and marketers of Resident Evil 9, now Resident Evil Requiem, which got a new trailer about half an hour after Capcom pulled some serious shit.
I was covering the show last night as part of the GR+ news crew, and I'll give you a peek behind the curtain at the most traumatizing part of the night for me. We were about halfway through the show, and my irresponsibly confident anticipation for RE9 made it hard to care about much else.
And then SGF host Geoff Keighley started talking about the "30th anniversary of a legendary franchise" before transitioning to a brief animation showing the Resident Evil series' iconic Racoon Police Department typewriter, the zombie used in a lot of the promotional materials for the original Resident Evil, and finally Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village.
I was nauseous. This doesn't look like Resident Evil 9 at all. Something is very, very wrong here, I thought.
And then Lady Dimitrescu actor Maggie Robertson appeared with a glass of wine and a cheers to Resident Evil's 30th birthday. So filled with existential dread was I that I just about joined her.
Then appeared Capcom legend and Resident Evil executive producer Jun Takeuchi, who proceeded to rip my heart straight from my chest and dance on it with Geoff's ugly shoes.
"About the latest Resident Evil game you've all been waiting for, bear with us a little longer. Just a blink of an eye more, and it'll be ready. We're incredibly grateful for your ongoing support of the Resident Evil series," he said, wine glass in hand from his living room. I need a minute. I needed one then as I watched this atrocity, and I need another now writing about it.
The crashing out had already begun. "TF WAS THAT," I sent to my upsettingly composed colleagues who had already moved on with their lives like normal people. "that was honestly so fucking troll smdh," I wasn't done. I needed to be heard on the world stage, or at least as much of the world stage as the good and true GamesRadar+ could possibly offer me. I started furiously bashing away at my keyboard with a headline akin to "you've gotta be kidding me..."
My anger blinded my reason. As a seasoned gaming journalist, I should've been able to sniff out Capcom's long game here, but I didn't. 20 minutes later, I had written about 400 words of utterly unhinged copy I'm not even sure would've made it through my editor's filter. I didn't care; I had Things to Say, and I was going to say them.
Just as I was ready to submit my copy for edits, I was hit with a wave of commiserations from my co-workers. At first, I figured they were still sympathizing with me over the fakeout, and then I saw the flurry of messages like "WE'RE SO BACK" and so on, and I realized the real Resident Evil 9 reveal was happening right at that moment. I returned my attention to the SGF stream, and there it was, seconds from being over, Resident Evil Requiem. The whiplash was swift and disorienting.
Worst of all, I was made a fool of. Even with seven years of experience covering these sorts of shows, I fell for Capcom's cruel joke hook, line, and sinker. The only thing I could do was look for solace in the community I knew would most acutely share my pain: Resident Evil Reddit, and it didn't fail me.
"Bro is a bait specialist," reads one comment presumably referring to Takeuchi. "Imma not gonna trust this dude anymore ever."
"That sly fuckin side eye, man knew he would get us," reads another.
"I have enough bait for an entire weekend fish trip," reads one of the funniest. "I have been baited thrice. To wait sale offers, the just a blink moment, and the blonde girl at FBI that had a similar forehead to Jill."
"This made me so mad," reads a comment from my fellow fool. "I was genuinely so pissed nearing the end of the show, but then screamed in joy at the end. Also, ILL & JWE3 look amazing, too."
...And so on. You got us, Capcom. You really did. And I will just say, you're lucky the Requiem trailer was just promising enough to earn my forgiveness, but you'll never have my full trust.... until literally the next time you say anything about Resident Evil 9.
