Resident Evil Requiem saw its co-protagonist Leon S. Kennedy deal with yet another zombie outbreak, but will he ever get a happy ending? Resident Evil 2 game director Hideki Kamiya certainly hopes so, and he has an idea for a retirement game that would be radically different from the survival-action adventures that starred Kennedy.
Kamiya–who directed the first Resident Evil game to star Kennedy and recently mused about a non-scary game mode in Requiem–elaborated on his idea after one of his followers asked him about it. According to Kamiya, if he were given the opportunity to direct Kennedy’s retirement game, he’d wrap up the video game icon’s career with a cozy Stardew Valley-inspired send-off.
“If I made it, it’d turn into a game where [a] retired Leon goes fishing in the countryside, forages for wild veggies, bakes bread, walks the dog, tends a home garden, drives 50 km to the general store for supplies, invites old buddies over for a barbecue, fixes the neighbor grandma’s oven at her request, [and] sells homemade lemonade at the local festival–but that’d be cool,” Kamiya wrote on X/Twitter (via Google Translate).
While there’s no way to tell just how serious Kamiya is with his comments, a cozy Resident Evil game would likely do very well. Wholesome games have become a fixture in the industry, with numerous developers putting their own spin on digital experiences that are relaxing to play–pretty much the polar opposite of a Resident Evil game, as those are made to keep their players on edge.
As for what’s actually in store for Leon, Capcom isn’t saying anything yet. Following the release of the new game mode Leon Must Die in Resident Evil Requiem, a new story expansion is in development for the hit survival-horror-action game. Capcom also announced its upcoming remake of Resident Evil: Veronica, which will hit PC and console in 2027, and if you’re looking for Stardew Valley with spooky vibes, Moonlight Peaks looks like it’ll fill that niche quite nicely when it launches in July.