Capcom has said that Leon S. Kennedy is a "bad match for horror" amid ongoing speculation he is a yet-to-be-revealed second protagonist for Resident Evil Requiem.
In a fresh look at Requiem shown during the publisher's Capcom Spotlight 2025 broadcast, the floppy-haired fan-favorite was nowhere to be seen.
Still, his absence was made notable by the fact that Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi offered an umprompted explanation for why Leon, of all past Resident Evil protagonists, had not been picked as this particular game's star.
"The protagonist this time is an intelligence analyst for the FBI, Grace Ashcroft," said Nakanishi, explaining that the new character was a good fit for Requiem's renewed horror focus. "She's introverted and easily scared, which is a new type of character for the Resident Evil series."
"We wanted someone that experiences horror from the same perspective as the player," he continued. "She learns to overcome her fears throughout the course of the story, but she's also an analyst for the FBI who's trained with guns, and is able to act with calm deductive reasoning."
Capcom's first trailer for Requiem, aired earlier this month, introduced Ashcroft and the game's returning Raccoon City setting in a manner that only fuelled the flames of fan speculation that Leon would also feature in some capacity. Indeed, fans were quick to spot a number of clues they said pointed to Leon's presence — including his old truck, still parked outside the ruins of the Raccoon City Police Department.
Is the recent fan speculation around Leon's presence why Capcom has addressed his apparent absence now? Here's what Nakanishi said next, on the character's status in the game:
"We always thought about making Leon the protagonist," Nakanishi explained, "but making a horror game based around him is difficult. He wouldn't jump at a bucket falling. No one wants to see Leon scared by every little thing. So he's actually quite a bad match for horror."
Is this Capcom ruling Leon out of Requiem? Nakanishi seems clear that the combat-tested Leon would no longer work as the hero of a game focused around horror. But the publisher also stopped short of ruling the character out altogether.
Leon's status is clearly an important enough talking point that Capcom decided to include discussion of it in tonight's showing — which still showed only a fragment of the full game. With more than six months still to go, Capcom will of course have more up its sleeve to reveal. Could this all be some kind of ruse, and Leon still be a part of it?
Recent entries in the Resident Evil series have taken different approaches to balancing horror and action — some to better results than others — but it's worth remembering how popular the Leon-focused, action-heavy Resident Evil 4 remains among fans. Could Capcom still be holding back a look at Requiem's more action-heavy moments, where Leon would be a better fit? There's still plenty of time left for the publisher to tell.
Resident Evil Requiem will launch on February 27, 2026 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
