A Whole Chapter Was Cut From RE Requiem

Resident Evil Requiem is sitting at a 95% critic recommendation rate on OpenCritic, Capcom's fastest-selling game in the series, and one of 2026's most acclaimed releases so far. But according to director Koshi Nakanishi, the version players got is missing an entire chapter that was built and then scrapped during development.

In a new interview with Japanese outlet Denfaminico Gamer, Nakanishi drew a direct parallel to his previous game, Resident Evil 7, which also lost a full chapter. "Up to now, I've talked in interviews about how Resident Evil 7 had a 'phantom Chapter 2' that got cut during development. It was supposed to be the section where you move from the guest house to the main house," he said. Then the reveal: "Actually, Resident Evil Requiem had its own 'phantom Chapter 2' as well."

What's fascinating here is how casually Nakanishi frames this. He describes it not as a painful loss but as a routine part of how Capcom builds these games. "As we lock down the structure of the game, we go through a pretty intense process of deciding things like, 'Let's push this scene further back,' 'Let's just cut this entirely,' or 'Let's add something different here,'" he explained. The cuts happen early, during rough builds, not as last-minute panic moves. "It's actually pretty common for an entire chapter to get cut."

I find this kind of transparency refreshing, and it makes me more curious about Requiem's development than almost anything else in the interview. Requiem already feels like a tightly paced game, one that doesn't waste your time the way some modern horror titles do. Knowing that a whole chapter was sacrificed to achieve that pacing says a lot about Nakanishi's editorial instincts. Not every director is willing to kill their darlings, and the ones who are tend to ship better games because of it.

What Else Came Out of the Interview

The cut chapter wasn't the only interesting detail. Nakanishi and producer Masato Kumazawa also addressed Ada Wong's absence from Requiem, explaining that within Leon and Grace's story, "there weren't really any scenes where it was necessary" for her to appear. Kumazawa added on X that the team discussed including Ada but ultimately felt so satisfied with Leon and Grace's dynamic that they chose not to. Given how well Grace works as a new lead, I think that was the right call. Forcing Ada into a story that didn't need her would have diluted what Requiem does best.

Nakanishi also teased Leon's wedding ring, which has been a hot topic among fans since launch. When asked about the identity of Leon's partner, he said it "isn't important" and was simply meant to show how Leon has changed with age. He did confirm a name will come "someday," but "that 'someday' is not now."

Separately, the interview confirmed that Requiem's upcoming minigame, widely expected to be a Mercenaries mode, is in its "final stages" of development. Nakanishi described it as "strictly based" on Requiem's combat and told fans to "sharpen your tomahawks." Kumazawa suggested players finish the main story during Golden Week, Japan's annual holiday running April 29 through May 5, to be ready when it drops. The minigame unlocks after completing the campaign, so anyone still working through the story has a narrow window to catch up before what sounds like a May release.

Requiem launched on February 27 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. A single-player story DLC is also still in the works, though Capcom hasn't given a release window for that yet.