Resident Evil Requiem was going to have Leon as the only protagonist: this is how the plan changed in the middle of development

Capcom explains why the original approach did not work and how the dual protagonism was born.

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During the latest presentation of Resident Evil Requiem, it became clear that the new installment is betting on two very distinct protagonists, alternating between direct action situations and others more focused on tension and vulnerability. But in the end, that structure wasn’t on the table from the very beginning.

New information shared by the creative team itself confirms that the initial approach was very different, with a more classic idea and a single character at the forefront of the experience. The change wasn’t immediate, but it was decisive in defining the game’s final tone.

Resident Evil Requiem went from a solo Leon to a dual focus

According to director Koshi Nakanishi, the project started as a pure horror experience starring only Leon S. Kennedy. The intention was to recover a more oppressive feeling, relying on the character’s vulnerability and a slower pace, very focused on fear.

The problem, as the team itself acknowledges, is that Leon no longer fit that role entirely. His evolution throughout the series has turned him into an extremely competent character in combat, capable of facing any threat with ease. Forcing a constant feeling of helplessness wasn’t credible, and that ended up diluting the impact of the most tense situations.

The solution was to redefine the game’s design: Leon maintains his more offensive profile, with access to physical tools and direct combat, while the sequences more oriented towards fear fall to Grace, a character designed from scratch to convey fragility and tension. In this way, Capcom found a more coherent balance between action and horror, adjusting each section of the game to the protagonist that best fits that approach.

This creative shift helps to better understand why Resident Evil Requiem feels so different from its inception and reinforces the idea that Capcom has been adjusting the project on the fly to make it work within the current identity of the series.