Resident Evil’s Raccoon City: A Complete History

The return of Resident Evil Requiem in 2026 will take us back to Raccoon City after 30 years, along with familiar characters like Leon S. Kennedy. To help you fully immerse yourself in the story, here’s a summary of the history from the city’s heyday to the moment it disappeared from the map.

Founding and Golden Age (1881 – 1980s)

Raccoon City is a fictional city that has served as the backdrop for the Resident Evil game series since the first installment. The city is located in the Midwest of the United States. To the north lies the vast and lush Raccoon Forest and Arklay Valley, home to a diverse array of wildlife and a popular destination for tourists seeking a close encounter with nature. (Read about the developers’ inspiration for the city’s design.)here) 

Raccoon City is classified as a small industrial city. In 1998, its population exceeded 100,000. This growth was a result of economic recovery driven by the large pharmaceutical and medical supplies company, Umbrella Corporation. Approximately three-tenths of the city’s population worked for Umbrella, although most were unaware of the company’s secret experiments.

Raccoon City is said to have been founded in 1881. The city’s name comes from a type of mammal that was abundant in the area. I don’t need to reveal what it is, do I?… That’s right, the raccoon.

Initially, the town was just a small farming village before gradually growing and expanding. The first primary school was built in 1908, founded by priests in conjunction with donations from benefactors at the adjacent St. Michael’s Church, in honor of the children of the rapidly growing town at that time. The school had over 600 students enrolled annually, reflecting the rapid expansion of the community in the early 20th century.

In 1913, the first large cemetery, coupled with a park, was built to accommodate the steadily increasing population. Shortly afterward, plans were made to establish a small university to provide local youth with educational opportunities without having to travel outside the city.

In 1930, they commissioned a Japanese architect to design the university buildings, which were completed in 1940, along with the St. Michael’s Clock Tower. This tower later became one of the city’s important landmarks, and was originally a primary school building converted as a memorial to St. Michael.

A major turning point for the city occurred in the 1960s when a visionary engineer named Michael Warren played a key role in developing its infrastructure. He helped extend the electric system to cover the entire city, and in 1968 he also installed a modern tram system that connected different areas, greatly improving convenience for citizens.

That achievement was a significant step for the city, as these cable car systems were manufactured in Europe and required enormous expense to import to the United States, reflecting the ambition and prosperity of Raccoon City at that time.

In the same year, Oswell E. Spencer, Edward Ashford, and James Marcus co-founded the Umbrella Corporation, inviting the press to a press conference at their mansion in the Arklay Mountains, promising to create new industries and jobs for the city’s citizens to stimulate its economy.

Just one year after Umbrella built its first factory, the Kite brothers constructed the city’s first railroad line, starting with only one mile and three stations. However, the economic recovery resulting from Umbrella’s investment led to continued expansion of the Kite Bro. Railway. By 1989, Raccoon City had over eight miles of railroad tracks with eight fully operational stations. Furthermore, a subway system was constructed, a rarity in America for a city of this size.

Around the same time, the Raccoon Police Department was established. Due to the town’s rapid growth, the single sheriff’s office could no longer adequately oversee security. The art museum building on Ennerdale St. was therefore purchased and renovated to become the town’s police headquarters.

Meanwhile, Michael Warren, who had played a key role in developing the city’s infrastructure, began to take an interest in administration and politics. His demonstrable achievements and public recognition led to his landslide victory as mayor of Raccoon City in 1987.

The Umbrella Corporation has provided Warren with massive funding, enabling him to manage his dream city for its citizens. This includes improving welfare, public services, maintaining infrastructure, and even building hospitals, resulting in a stronger relationship between Mayor Warren and Umbrella.

While Raccoon City experienced unprecedented economic growth, Umbrella’s expanding influence into politics was also becoming a undeniable issue.

The Shadow of Umbrella – Behind the mask of benevolence, the infiltration schemes and dark power of Umbrella.

In the early 1990s, the Umbrella Corporation began to subtly infiltrate Raccoon City from the shadows. On the surface, they cultivated a positive image for the public, constructing the Spencer Memorial Hospital, establishing an orphanage, and supporting numerous city development projects, leading the city to become known as “Umbrella Home.”

However, behind that facade, Umbrella had built a secret underground research facility in the heart of the city to research deadly viruses. The facilities the company had invested heavily in for the city were, in reality, solely for the benefit of its own research.

A key factor enabling Umbrella to do these things so easily was the conspiracy of Mayor Michael Warren, who spearheaded a massive urban development project called “Bright Raccoon 21.” This project aimed to modernize the city, including restructuring the municipality, redesigning the city plan, and restoring landmarks like St. Michael’s Clock Tower to boost national pride and tourism. Naturally, Umbrella provided full financial support.

Naturally, the project received overwhelming public support. The restructuring of the municipality allowed Umbrella to gain complete control of the central sewer system. At the same time, the new city plan facilitated easy transportation of biological weapons to underground research facilities. Some roads were built without the citizens knowing where they would lead.

Suspicion began to build, along with rumors of inhumane experiments conducted by the pharmaceutical giant. However, whenever scandals spread, statements from the police department always managed to exonerate Umbrella. This was because Police Chief Brian Irons had received bribes from Umbrella.

The report states that he received bribes of up to $15,000 to facilitate and cover up the secret experiments. Furthermore, William Birkin, the lead researcher at NEST Laboratory, trusted Irons to station a number of police officers in the sewer system, the entrance to the underground laboratory. Irons also played a role in managing the orphanage to conceal the cruel experiments that were taking place periodically, and was granted regular access to Umbrella’s secret laboratories to meet with the heads of various research centers. 

Even though Irons was a real villain behind the scenes, the image he projected was that of a philanthropic director who regularly participated in community charity events.

Michael Warren was also highly regarded by the public, to the point that a bronze statue of him was erected in front of City Hall, further strengthening the image of both the mayor and Umbrella in the public eye.

However, the city’s growing prosperity came at the cost of increasing dependence on Umbrella’s finances, resulting in the corporation gaining de facto control over the city’s administration. Every city development project had to benefit Umbrella alongside the citizens, until by 1995, the corporation had achieved near-complete control over every aspect of the city.

Rapid growth transformed Raccoon City from a rural community into a full-fledged industrial city. However, this rapid expansion and modernization also brought with it increased crime rates and unrest.

Under Project Bright Raccoon 21 and the supervision of Irons, the Raccoon City Police Department established the Special Tactical and Rescue Service, or STARS, to combat crime within the city. This unit, comprised of scientists and former military personnel, utilizes their expertise to solve cases beyond the capabilities of regular police. Umbrella financed the operation, giving them significant influence in the selection of its members, ultimately leading to the appointment of Albert Wesker as its head. This, in turn, made STARS a de facto tool of Umbrella.

In 1998, Raccoon City reached the peak of its prosperity. Michael Warren was in his 11th year as mayor, and with the public’s immense popularity, it seemed he would serve many more terms. However, no one could have predicted that this year would be the last for this great city.

The Fall of Raccoon City – The beginning of the disaster in 1998.

The catastrophic events began in May 1998. The city’s police department received a report of a young woman’s body found in the Arklay Mountains. Her body was covered in bite marks, leading officers to initially suspect the death of a wild animal. 

However, shortly afterward, similar incidents began to occur repeatedly to other victims, creating panic among the townspeople. To control the situation and prevent further danger, police temporarily closed the Arklay Hill route for safety reasons.

On July 23, 1998, as a series of mysterious murders escalated, the police department ordered the STARS special unit, Team Bravo, to investigate the strange occurrences in the mountains. However, once they entered the Raccoon Forest, they were unable to contact Team Bravo again.

The following day, STARS’ Alpha team was assigned to fly into the Arklay Mountains to search for the missing Bravo team, and this marked the beginning of a horror story that none of them would ever forget.

Team Alpha confronts zombies and bio-weapons at the Oswell E. Spencer mansion. They discover evidence indicating that the entire horror is the work of the Umbrella Corporation, which has been researching the deadly virus in a secret underground laboratory. 

The surviving members of the STARS unit were Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Buton, Rebecca Chambers, and Brad Vickers. They immediately reported the incident directly to their director, Brian Irons, hoping to bring the Umbrella Corporation to justice. However, as is well known, Irons had received bribes from the company, leading him to suspend the entire STARS unit to prevent them from further investigating Umbrella’s research.

Public opinion in Raccoon City began to split. Some believed the STARS unit’s testimony, while others thought they might be hallucinating. One of those who refused to let the matter die down was Ben Bertolucci, a journalist trying to uncover the truth about Umbrella’s secret laboratories and expose Brain Irons’ twisted behavior. However, his efforts led him to his end behind bars in the RPD police station.

It is evident that Umbrella’s influence has now expanded to the point where virtually no one dares to question it. Anyone perceived as a threat or who expresses suspicion towards the company is usually silenced by distorted legal powers. The voices of the people are gradually being swallowed up under the shadow of the most powerful organization in the city.

But their attempts to silence individual citizens couldn’t cover up the atrocities they had committed. The T-Virus leak from the mansion had contaminated the Circular River, the main waterway that nourished the people of Raccoon City.

Meanwhile, the P12-A waste treatment plant, built to handle hazardous biowaste, became a dumping ground for failed experimental organisms from the NEST research center. They multiplied so much that they contaminated the soil near the plant with viruses, leading to mutations in organisms such as worms and earthworms.

To make matters worse, the Umbrella Corporation sent a special operations unit to steal the G-Virus from the underground NEST laboratory, resulting in the virus leaking into the city’s infrastructure. Furthermore, cockroaches and rats acted as carriers, spreading the infection to the population. As a result, a large number of people began to fall ill and die from the mysterious disease, overwhelming hospitals that could no longer cope with the massive increase in infected individuals.

On the night of September 24, 1998, the first riot occurred at Warren Stadium while the city’s football team, the Raccoon Sharks, were playing against the Old Court Thunders. Chaos erupted due to some spectators becoming agitated, resulting in a large number of police officers being deployed to quell the riot.

More than 80% of the city’s population has turned into zombies, leading to martial law being declared. The police station has become the last bastion of the survivors, but attacks from all sides, coupled with the limited number of remaining officers and the weapons and equipment that Superintendent Brian Irons had previously ordered removed, make it impossible for them to hold off the zombies.

The U.S. Department of Defense has deployed ground forces to assess the situation and has publicly announced that Raccoon City is facing a disaster due to a radioactive leak in the area.

The governor was ordered by the National Guard to assist in the mass evacuation of residents, while the U.S. President also ordered the military to help set up barricades and checkpoints along major highways and all routes out of the city.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also declared a lockdown zone around the city within a radius of at least 200 miles and is coordinating with various agencies to facilitate evacuations. All refugees must undergo rigorous screening for signs of infection before being allowed to leave the area.

In addition, the city has been declared a no-fly zone, allowing only military helicopters, Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon Police Department, and fire departments to conduct aerial operations.

The Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) was deployed to Raccoon City under the pretext of rescuing and evacuating civilians, in order to improve the Umbrella Corporation’s image. However, the true objective of this mission was to test the effectiveness of bio-weapons in real-world urban conditions.

Seeing an opportunity, Umbrella secretly deployed its bio-weapons—Hunter, Tyrant, and Nemesis—into the battlefield, turning the entire city into a de facto testing ground for these bio-weapons. Besides testing their capabilities, this also served as a way to silence survivors within the city. For example, Nemesis was specifically ordered to hunt down the STARS unit, and Tyrant was tasked with eliminating any remaining survivors. 

Amidst the chaos described, mercenaries seeking personal gain also infiltrated the battlefield, hoping to steal virus samples to sell on the black market, turning Raccoon City into a true hell on earth.

On October 1, 1998, following the failure to resolve the crisis, the U.S. government decided to destroy Raccoon City with missiles, publicly justifying the action by stating that it was to prevent the spread of the virus outside the area.

But in reality, the US government simply wanted to destroy all evidence that they had supported Umbrella Corporation’s research for use in weapons within the military. Furthermore, it was to prevent other major powers from accessing such data or experiments. Therefore, all the blame was placed solely on Umbrella.

In the final hours before the operation, emergency radio messages were sent into the city, warning survivors to evacuate immediately. The no-fly zone was lifted, and the U.S. Air Force was ordered to dispatch aircraft for the mission immediately.

A missile struck the heart of the city, destroying everything the citizens of Raccoon City had built. This event, dubbed the “Raccoon City Destruction Incident,” claimed at least one hundred thousand lives, bringing an end to the once-flourishing metropolis.

The entire incident, including the destruction of Raccoon City, was covered up by the U.S. government. They claimed that the tragedy was solely the fault of the Umbrella Corporation. Global pressure eventually led to the Umbrella Corporation’s bankruptcy.

The then-U.S. president decided to resign after a press conference that further fueled public and media outrage worldwide.

Within six months of the explosion, the U.S. government had fenced off the ruins of Raccoon City and established a government research center to collect samples and study data on the virus, although its true purpose was never explicitly revealed.

Road to Requiem – The installment you absolutely need to play to fully immerse yourself in the story?

For those of you who want to experience surviving in Raccoon City for yourselves, we’d like to recommend some games to play to prepare you before returning to this city once again in Resident Evil Requiem. Here are the games we recommend:

• Resident Evil 0

The story follows Rebecca Chambers, a member of STARS Team Bravo, who is sent to investigate a mysterious murder in the Arklay Mountains. She meets Billy Coen, the protagonist of this film, and together they survive the Umbrella Executive Training School while confronting James Marcus, one of the founders of the Umbrella Corporation. This marks the beginning of uncovering the secrets about the T-Virus and the source of all the disaster.

• Resident Evil 1

The STARS Alpha team, consisting of Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, and Albert Wesker, is sent to locate the missing Bravo team. They discover the mansion of Oswell E. Spencer, one of the founders of the Umbrella Corporation, and learn that all the horrific events are the result of the Umbrella Corporation’s T-Virus experiments.

• Resident Evil 2

The story follows Claire Redfield, a college student traveling to find her brother, and Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie cop on his first day. Together, they must survive a major outbreak while uncovering the dark truth that Umbrella has been hiding beneath the city.

• Resident Evil 3

The story follows Jill Valentine, a member of STARS Alpha team, as she struggles to survive Raccoon City on the night of the viral outbreak. She must also confront Nemesis, a bio-weapon sent by Umbrella Corporation specifically to hunt and kill her. She’s racing against time before the entire city is destroyed by a missile.

• Resident Evil Outbreak

The story follows a group of survivors who must help each other to survive in Raccoon City. Although the story in this game may not be very significant, it still provides an excellent survival experience.

There’s no denying that, even though Raccoon City only appeared in a few games, it has become an important place in the memories of every Resident Evil fan, as if we ourselves were among the survivors of that event. 

This city is more than just the backdrop for a game; it’s the birthplace of a legend, a place filled with fear, loss, and characters we’ve become attached to. A return in…Resident Evil RequiemTherefore, it’s not just a return to a familiar place, but a confrontation with the past of both the characters and ourselves.

And you… are you ready to return to that cursed paradise once again? 

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about Raccoon City

Question: Where is Raccoon City located, and what is its environment like?

• Answer: The city is located in the Midwest of the United States, surrounded to the north by the lush Raccoon Forest and Arklay Valley.

Question: Where did the name Raccoon City come from?

• Answer: The town was named in 1881 after the raccoon, a mammal that was abundant in the area.

Question: What are some of the city’s important historical landmarks?

• Answer: Notable landmarks include St. Michael’s Clock Tower, which was converted from a former elementary school building, and the RPD police station building, which was formerly an art museum.

Question: To what extent does the Umbrella Corporation play a role in the city’s economy?

• Answer: Umbrella Corporation was a key driver of economic recovery, with approximately three-tenths of the city’s population employed by the company.

Question: What is the “Bright Raccoon 21” project and what is its significance?

• Answer: It was a large-scale urban development project spearheaded by Mayor Michael Warren, disguised as a modernization effort, but in reality, it was used to pave the way for Umbrella to control the sewer system and facilitate the trafficking of biological weapons.

Question: Who are the key individuals who keep Umbrella’s secrets within the city?

• Answer: The first is Mayor Michael Warren, who received massive funding from corporations, and the second is police chief Brian Irons, who accepted a $15,000 bribe to silence allegations of inhumane experiments.

Question: How did the T-Virus begin to spread to a wider population?

• Answer: The contaminants flowed into the Circular River, the city’s main waterway, and also leaked through utilities, with rats and cockroaches acting as carriers, spreading the pathogens to the public.

Question: Where did the first riot, which marked the beginning of the collapse, occur?

• Answer: Riots broke out at Warren Stadium on the night of September 24, 1998, during a city football game.

Question: Why couldn’t the STARS unit stop this event?

• Answer: Because the STARS unit was suspended by Brian Irons to prevent them from continuing their investigation into Umbrella, and also because Irons had ordered the weapons and equipment at the police station removed before the outbreak, the officers were unable to fight off the zombies.

Question: Why would the U.S. government destroy a city?

• Answer: The government claims it’s to contain the spread of the virus outside the area, but the truth is it wants to destroy evidence supporting its own biological weapons research.

Question: How many people died in the “Raccoon City Destruction Incident”?

• Answer: At least 100,000 people died when a missile struck the city on October 1, 1998.

Question: What is the current state of Raccoon City?

• Answer: The rubble area is heavily fenced off and has been declared a restricted zone. A government research center is located there to collect samples and further study the virus.