This had leaked before, but Resident Evil Requiem will indeed feature the 30-year-old series’ loved protagonist, Leon S. Kennedy.
Despite what the devs may have said about adding a seasoned survivor of horror in the upcoming survival horror game, he is indeed a playable character, as part of a dual-protagonist setup alongside newcomer Grace Ashcroft.
Revealed during the 2025 The Game Awards, the trailer shows the duality of these two leads.
Grace meets a… resident evil, scouring and hiding after the encounter. Meanwhile, Leon speaks cockily to his handler and starts roundhouse kicking zombies. One of them indeed carries a chainsaw, for old times’ sake. Fans who have been clamouring for his return, despite the devs’ pushback in earlier interviews, can rest easy.
Looks like Resident Evil Requiem will still have high-octane action moments to go alongside the creepier, tense survival horror gameplay it first revealed with.
On another note, see the car Leon rolls up with to the mansion to visit the resident evil and cross path with Grace? He arrives in a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT. Yes, that’s another licensed car in a non-racing game. Not that it’s not rare these days, especially for Porsche. Just that it’s not the kind of car you’d expect Leon to drive. Ask a Porsche fan if the Cayenne is a “legendary car.”
But hey, if it gets more people to buy cars from Stuttgart and get them racing in Le Mans again while not impacting the sales of Resident Evil Requiem in the far future due to potential licensing issues (which is a recurring issue with preserving games with tons of licensed cars), Leon can drive whatever Capcom wants.
At least the trailer doesn’t come off as a car commercial.
Resident Evil Requiem will be out on February 27 for the PS5, PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.