During The Game Awards, Capcom finally confirmed the existence of Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem with an awesome new trailer. It seemingly confirms that players will experience more traditional survival horror while playing as Grace Ashcroft, while Leon's gameplay will be more akin to Resident Evil 4.
But will the campaign be skewed in favour of one character over the other? According to Capcom, no. In speaking with Automaton, director Kōshi Nakanishi and producer Masato Kumazawa confirm that Leon and Grace will share almost equal screen time throughout Requiem.
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In fact, Nakanishi compared the structure to Resident Evil Revelations, during which players jumped between Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield (funnily enough, this, along with Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, was also directed by Nakanishi).
Here's how Nakanishi describes the two play styles with Leon and Grace:
"I’ve said before that Leon isn’t well suited to horror. Since quiet sections where you cower before monsters don’t fit him, his chapters focus on intense, adrenaline-pumping action. Grace’s sections, on the other hand, are the scarier ones. We’re really emphasising the difference in their experiences this time.
"It’s almost like having two games with completely different types of tension mixed together. Early on, we worried players might not be able to keep up, but now we feel that the contrast gives the game a unique rhythm, like jumping into a cold bath after sitting in a hot sauna (laughs). It was important to combine the slow and fast segments well, and Grace and Leon turned out to be the best combination for that. Leon also has lots of new actions, giving you a strong sense of release compared to Grace’s sequences."
The director also explicitly states that Grace's gameplay is based specifically on Resident Evil 2, while Leon's is based on Resident Evil 4. By including two distinct styles, the development team is hoping to relieve some of the terror players might feel when playing as Grace by allowing Leon to be the badass we know he is.
That said, Nakanishi is also keen to stress just how much weight Leon is carrying on his shoulders now that he's an older protagonist. He specifically mentions the idea of Leon returning to Raccoon City and responding to the "place where it all began" now that he's a lot more experienced.
This all sounds pretty great to us, and we can't wait to see how things pan out when Requiem launches on Switch 2 on 27th February 2026.