A pair of leaks — one from a retailer, one from a console storefront — have pushed Resident Evil: Requiem’s already-murky secrets into the daylight, and they don’t tell quite the same story.
The first leak came courtesy of GameStop. For a short time the store page for Requiem’s Deluxe (steelbook) edition listed exclusive content tied to Rosemary “Rose” Winters: a Shadow Walker costume pack (three outfits), a cosmetic filter described as for "Rose's visor," two extra story scenarios, and a touted Mercenaries-mode update. Screengrabs spread fast; then the listing was quietly edited to a different, pared-back Deluxe Kit inventory. Whatever happened, somebody at a major retailer put a potentially significant detail on public display long enough for fans to react.
Then the PlayStation Store chimed in
Not long after, PlayStation owners began spotting new cover art in pre-download screens on their PS5s. The image — confirmed independently by sources that saw it appear on consoles — shows a grizzled Leon S. Kennedy looming over Grace Ashcroft, Requiem’s other lead. The look is very much in the Leon lane fans remember from Resident Evil 4: floppy hair, leather jacket with a fur collar, a harder edge than the quiet, introspective protagonists Capcom has been foregrounding lately.
That juxtaposition — a retailer hinting at Rosemary and a platform image confirming Leon — raises obvious questions. Are both characters present? Does Rosemary get a playable segment while Leon handles the high-action sequences? Or is one of these elements DLC, a pre-order bonus, or simply a marketing misstep?
Capcom has been unusually guarded about specifics. The studio’s recent communications established that one narrative aim for recent entries was to wrap up the Winters storyline; Rosemary last appeared as a teenager in the Shadows of Rose DLC, and director Kento Kinoshita said that Capcom was “creating the Shadows of Rose story to conclude the Winters family saga.” Meanwhile, some developers have suggested Leon’s personality and history might make him a poor fit for Requiem’s quieter beats — but that doesn’t preclude his turning up for more kinetic, combat-heavy sections.
Why this matters beyond fan theories: Requiem is being pitched as a return to Raccoon City, a setting that naturally invites Leon back into the frame. If both Rosemary and Leon appear, the game could be juggling timelines, ages, or short playable vignettes in service of a larger Raccoon City story. If only one is playable and the other appears in cutscenes or as DLC, that changes how players might approach the narrative and their expectations for post-launch support.
There’s also a practical angle. Capcom has publicly assured players it’s working to get Requiem running well on PC after a rough technical year with another title, and retailers altering listings mid-campaign is an annoyance that fuels rumor cycles. Fans won’t have to wait terribly long: Requiem releases on 27 February 2026, and The Game Awards (where more will likely be shown) is just around the corner.
Collectors and console owners should keep an eye on how images and store pages propagate. If you’re one of the people who first saw the art pop up on your PlayStation pre-download, that moment is part of a broader shift in how platform storefronts leak marketing early — a topic that complements recent conversations about PS5 store and streaming behavior and hardware ecosystem changes. For context on recent platform-side shifts, see coverage of PlayStation Portal’s streaming changes and the datamine suggesting new PS5 cross-buy hints.
If you’re shopping consoles while you wait, the upcoming generation chatter even makes hardware worth a look; some readers are eyeing upgraded boxes like the PlayStation 5 Pro Console to stay ready for next-gen visuals.
Leaks don’t answer everything. They do, however, set the stage for Capcom’s next official move. Whether Rosemary gets a playable chapter, Leon bangs down a door, or both walk into Raccoon City at once, fans should be primed for an announcement that clarifies — and probably complicates — what Requiem intends to be.