It looks like Resident Evil Requiem might kill off one of the series' fan-favourite characters, and if so, it’s going to be heartbreaking.
Ever since its inception in 1996 on the original PlayStation, it’s fair to say that Capcom’s Resident Evil series has been a standard bearer for the survival horror genre. Well, apart from Resident Evil 6 and the multiplayer spin-off, Umbrella Corps.
Combining horrific creatures, conspiracies to uncover, tension and plenty of action, there are many reasons why Resident Evil has continued to remain so popular after all these years.
One other contributing factor is the beloved characters, from the cheesy Barry Burton lines, the endless charms of Claire and Chris Redfield, to the banter between Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong. Resident Evil has so many great characters, we could talk about them all day.
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However, all good things must come to an end, no matter how much we want them to live forever, and Resident Evil is no exception. With that in mind, as reported by TheGamer (via Dusk Golem), Resident Evil Requiem could be the send-off for Leon S. Kennedy.
We know that Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft from Resident Evil Outbreak, is the main protagonist in Resident Evil Requiem. Yet, fans have also speculated that Leon S. Kennedy may have a major role to play, perhaps even as a second playable character.
Dusk Golem, a known video games industry insider, claims that Resident Evil Requiem will be “Leon’s send-off”, and it will be his last appearance in a mainline game.#
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It’s not known whether Leon will be killed, perhaps sacrificing himself for the greater good, or he’ll retire happily, walking off into the sunset to live a quiet life. I’m hoping for the latter.
As much as I’d love to see more of our beloved Leon, having his final mainline appearance in Resident Evil Requiem makes a lot of sense. After all, the game takes us back to Raccoon City, after it was nuked in an attempt by the government to cover up the T-Virus outbreak.
With Claire Redfield by his side, along with Sherry Birkin (not forgetting Ada Wong, who had ulterior motives), the trio made it out alive, and it became a mission to expose Umbrella Corp, the pharmaceutical company responsible for the outbreak.
In Resident Evil 2, Leon was a 21-year-old rookie cop at the Raccoon Police Department, and on his very first day, he had the T-Virus outbreak to contend with. However, Resident Evil Requiem is set in the year 2026, which would make Leon 49 years old.
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I assume Leon will be in fine shape. But with all the battles he’s had, I’d imagine his body and mind are a little bit beaten up, and if anyone deserves a happy retirement, it is he. That being said, there’s no way Leon will go out quietly.
Of course, these are unconfirmed rumours, so we should take them with a pinch of salt until confirmed otherwise. I guess we’ll know either way when Resident Evil Requiem arrives next year.
Resident Evil Requiem will be released on 27 February 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Topics: Resident Evil, Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X