Capcom treated us to a special June 2025 showcase last night highlighting a bunch of upcoming Xbox games, and one of them was Resident Evil Requiem. As part of it, the team explained why Leon isn't the protagonist this time around.
In their message, they explained that Requiem's protagonist, Grace Ashcroft, works perfectly with the game's setting considering she's an "introverted" and "easily scared" character but also a competent FBI agent who "learns to overcome her fears throughout the course of the story".
Leon, in contrast, wouldn't have worked with the approach the team is going for:
"We always thought about making Leon the protagonist, but making a horror game based around him is difficult. He wouldn't jump at something like a bucket falling. No one wants to see Leon scared by every little thing. So, he's actually quite a bad match for horror."
Despite this, there are certain fans who believe Leon may make an appearance in Resident Evil Requiem in some form, especially considering how Capcom is mentioning him as part of the lead up to the game's release in February 2026.
To be honest though, we're more intrigued to see how Grace Ashcroft fares in Resident Evil 6, and whether she'll end up proving just as popular as the likes of Leon and Jill in the years to come. We'll have to wait and see!
Before we go, we'll leave you with a short snippet of gameplay from the new Resident Evil Requiem Creators' Message in the tweet down below, and you can watch the full thing at the top of this article.