Seven million copies sold in under two months. Resident Evil Requiem is the fastest-selling entry in the entire horror franchise, and fans are still hungry for more. So when Game Director Koshi Nakanishi and Producer Masato Kumazawa sat down with Japanese outlet Denfaminicogamer this week, the interview delivered more than just mini-game teasers. It pulled back the curtain on a piece of the game that never existed for players, and never will.
Leon's signature weapon returns
The chapter that got cut before you ever saw it
Nakanishi confirmed that Resident Evil Requiem had its own scrapped Chapter 2 during development, a direct parallel to what happened with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which famously had a second chapter cut before launch. The reasoning comes down to the team's core development philosophy: subtraction. Deliberately removing content, even content the team had worked hard on, in service of better pacing and accessibility.
That philosophy is not a small thing. Cutting a full chapter means cutting story beats, enemy encounters, environments, and potentially hours of gameplay. Nakanishi described the process as painful for the team, but intentional. The key here is that this was not a budget casualty or a crunch decision. It was a creative one.
The same interview revealed that Requiem's original concept was much narrower: just Leon and Raccoon City. Grace's role as a full co-protagonist was not part of the initial vision. She expanded significantly during development until she became equal to Leon in the final product. That is a substantial creative pivot, and it makes you wonder how much the scrapped Chapter 2 was tied to the earlier, Leon-only concept.
Mini-game timing points to May 7
Beyond the cut content revelation, Kumazawa dropped a pretty clear hint about when the free mini-game update arrives. His exact framing: it would be "just right" if players finished the main campaign during Golden Week, Japan's major holiday period running from April 29 to May 6. Clearing the main story is a prerequisite for unlocking the mini-game.
Do the math and May 7 lands as the earliest plausible release window. That lines up with Capcom's earlier statement that the new mode would drop sometime in May.
The mini-game is widely expected to be a new take on The Mercenaries mode, though Capcom has not officially confirmed the format. Nakanishi's hint to "sharpen your tomahawk and wait" suggests combat-focused content.
The free update news matters for a game that has already pushed Capcom to revise its fiscal year 2026 net profit forecast upward from $319.9 million to $341.8 million, a 6.9% jump driven largely by Requiem's performance.
How players are actually playing the game
The interview also surfaced some genuinely interesting player behavior data. In Leon's chapters, roughly 90% of players chose the third-person perspective. In Grace's chapters, the split is nearly even at 60% first-person versus 40% third-person.
Regional patterns are just as telling. Japanese and Asian players skew heavily toward third-person, while PC players lean toward first-person. Platform habits and cultural familiarity with the franchise's roots likely explain both trends.
Perspective options in Requiem
For a game that built its identity around offering both viewpoints, those numbers validate the decision. Grace's chapters clearly invite more experimentation, possibly because her story feels less tied to the franchise's traditional third-person identity.
With the mini-game window closing in fast, now is the time to wrap the campaign if you have not already. For more on what Capcom has in store, keep an eye on our latest gaming news as the May 7 window approaches.
