Leon S. Kennedy will play a big role in the next Resident Evil according to an insider, and will also feature open world areas with a vehicle.
Capcom officially unveiled Resident Evil Requiem at Summer Game Fest earlier this year, where they debuted a new protagonist in the form of FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft.
While the developer has shared little else about the sequel, aside from the ability to switch between first and third person perspectives, rumours prior to the announcement claimed Leon S. Kennedy would feature in some capacity.
Capcom has not officially said Leon will make an appearance (and even appeared to rule him out entirely), but a prominent insider has now gone one step further – claiming the upcoming sequel will represent a final bow for the character.
Insider Dusk Golem, who is known for Resident Evil leaks, posted a series of tweets about Resident Evil Requiem on X. In these posts, he claims the next instalment ‘is supposed to be Leon’s last major role in the timeline’.
‘Leon and Grace are the main protagonists of Resident Evil Requiem, yes,’ they added. ‘I am repeating myself a bit there, but will end up being the case. Both play big roles, but I think when all is said and done, this in many ways will come off more as Leon’s send-off game.’
Dusk Golem later clarified he doesn’t know how Resident Evil Requiem will end, or Leon’s fate, but rather the ‘circumstance surrounding’ his inclusion. ‘Hell, I could see the end being Leon being all, ‘I’m getting too old for this and have earned my retirement’ after the events of Resident Evil 9,’ they speculate.
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While it’s worth taking this with a pinch of salt, timeline wise, it lines up with what we know about Resident Evil Requiem. The sequel is set 30 years after Raccoon City’s destruction in Resident Evil 3. Leon first debuted in Resident Evil 2, which takes place at the same time, where he’s 21 years-old.
A 30-year time jump from these events would mean Leon, if he does appear, will be 51 years-old in Resident Evil Requiem. While not exactly retirement age, he’s probably seen enough zombie shenanigans to warrant an early exit.
There’s already precedent for older versions of original characters popping up in Resident Evil. In the last mainline instalment, Resident Evil Village, original protagonist Chris Redfield shows up, where he’s 48 years-old.
Leon is four years younger than Chris, putting the latter potentially at 55 in the events of Resident Evil Requiem, so there’s a chance the next game could represent a retirement of the old guard across the board. Outside of Chris, the last time the bulk of the main cast appeared in a mainline title was 2012’s Resident Evil 6.
Jill Valentine was rumoured to be part of early plans for Resident Evil 9 but Dusk Golem makes no mention of her playing a role in Requiem. There’s also no mention of teenager Rose Winters, which the ending of Village implied would play an active part in future games. Although those plans may also have changed over time.
Beyond the story, Dusk Golem has claimed there’ll be several ‘innovations’ gameplay-wise in the next instalment. These include ‘good performance on open level designed areas like Raccoon City’, which will feature a ‘vehicle to travel around it’.
This wouldn’t be entirely new for the series, as it sounds similar to the open area boat sequence in Resident Evil 5 and the Resident Evil 4 remake, although those were quite limited.
‘The combat with Leon has seen huge innovations, honestly some Last Of Us Part 2-isms, but also its own innovations,’ they added.
On the remake side, Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evil: Code Veronica are expected to be the next titles due for a makeover. According to Dusk Golem, the former received ‘some form of reboot in development’ late last year, although it’s unclear how significant the changes are.
It’s claimed these titles are scheduled to release in 2027 and 2028, but it’s unclear which one will arrive first (he previously said it would be Zero).
Beyond these titles, they claim the next ‘big budget’ Resident Evil game, which is not a remake or spin-off, will launch in 2029/2030.
If you’re simply after more information on Resident Evil Requiem, the same leaker states the title will be shown next at Gamescom Opening Night Live on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, before it makes an appearance at the Tokyo Game Show in September.
Earlier this year, Capcom confirmed Resident Evil Requiem began life as an online open world game, but these plans were (thankfully) dropped.
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