On February 27, the long-awaited Resident Evil Requiem finally launched — the newest installment in the iconic survival horror franchise from Capcom. The sequel takes players back to the ruins of Raccoon City, 30 years after the original catastrophe.
The game’s launch has already made major waves within the gaming community. By all accounts, Resident Evil Requiem has been a strong success, earning an impressive 88 out of 100 on Metacritic, along with glowing reviews from both players and critics. That makes it the second-highest-rated entry in the franchise’s history. The only title to score higher was Resident Evil 4, which holds a remarkable 93 out of 100.
Source: Steam Charts
Secondly, alongside its strong review scores, Resident Evil Requiem also delivered an impressive performance in terms of player numbers. On launch day, the game reached a peak of 267,500 concurrent players on Steam — setting a new record for the entire Resident Evil franchise.
The surge in popularity of Resident Evil Requiem was immediately reflected in the livestreaming scene. Within hours of its release, the game broke into the top five most-watched titles on Twitch — despite being live for less than a full day. As of midday on February 27, it trails only Grand Theft Auto V, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and Marathon. However, the rankings could easily shift by the end of the day as viewership continues to fluctuate.
What truly stands out, however, is the category’s peak channel count. Right after the launch of Resident Evil Requiem, more than 12,600 streamers went live simultaneously in the game’s category on Twitch. That marks the highest peak channel count for any game on the platform in 2026 so far. For comparison, Hytale reached just 4,600 concurrent channels at its peak, while Highguard topped out at slightly over 3,600.
The launch of Resident Evil Requiem came amid intense competition. On the same day, the open beta for Marathon — an ambitious new shooter from Bungie — resumed, drawing many top streamers to jump in immediately. At the same time, World of Warcraft launched early access to its Midnight expansion, the second chapter of the Worldsoul Saga. That release also attracted a significant audience on Twitch, further intensifying the battle for viewers.
Despite the fierce competition, Resident Evil Requiem still drew the attention of numerous high-profile content creators, including Sergio “knekro” García, Distortion2, BaityBait, and others. The game received an especially warm welcome from Japanese streamers — hardly surprising, given the franchise’s roots. It will be interesting to see how the title performs in terms of viewership by the end of its first week. Requiem has all the makings of one of 2026’s biggest releases, although surpassing Grand Theft Auto VI in the long run may prove to be a far tougher challenge.
