After it was announced that Leon Kennedy would be a playable character in Capcom’s upcoming Resident Evil Requiem, fans of the franchise reacted in one of two ways: expressing excitement about Leon’s return, and expressing excitement at how darn handsome his new in-game model is, with Japanese fans in particular referring to him as a “ikeoji” or “hot uncle.”
This was no accident. Resident Evil Requiem features a more mature version of Leon who is 48 years old, and Capcom wanted to ensure he aged like fine wine. The solution? An unofficial committee of female Capcom employees tasked with making sure Leon’s Requiem design would be well-received.
Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi says the devs have spent “quite a lot of time” refining Leon’s features (via Automaton).
“Leon has many fans among Capcom employees, and women in particular were pretty strict when reviewing his design,” Nakanishi explained. “They would point out and comment on even the finest details, like the wrinkles on his neck. When I mentioned that story in the past, a female fan told me, ‘The women developers at Capcom did a really good job.’”
Given the “hot uncle” phenomenon on social media, it would seem that fan was right.
“Throughout the development process, Leon was thoroughly refined, and I think we managed to come through with a design that would make anyone’s heart throb,” Nakanishi said.
But Capcom didn’t take feedback solely from women — Nakanishi says all staff members were heavily involved, especially when it came to Leon’s personality. Unlike co-protagonist Grace Ashcroft, Leon is a seasoned Resident Evil veteran who doesn’t scare easily.
“Every staff member had their own interpretation of Leon’s 30-year-long history, so they would tell me things like, ‘Leon would definitely not act like that in this kind of situation,'” Nakanishi recalled. “So there were more opinions about what he’s like on the inside compared to his looks, and after many discussions, we were able to settle on something that clicked for us. When players see this Leon in the game, hopefully they will be able to find their own interpretation of him as well.”
So far, it seems like players all over the world are largely responding to Leon’s new look in the same way: unquenchable thirst. And from the sounds of it, that’s exactly what Nakanishi was aiming for.
Resident Evil Requiem launches on PlayStation, Xbox and Windows PC on Feb. 27.
