One of the biggest games of 2026 is about to get a little bit bigger. In an interview published today in the Japanese-language outlet Denfaminico Gamer, Resident Evil Requiem <\/em>director Koshi Nakanishi and producer Masato Kumazawa offered some fresh details on the game’s upcoming expansions. Nakanishi confirmed that the first of those expansions, a combat-based mini-game, is very close to completion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We already knew Requiem <\/em>would get a new mini-game in May, ahead of a story expansion later in the year. But based on this interview, it seems like it’ll be launching in early May.<\/p>\n “This mini-game is content that is unlocked after clearing the main story,” said Kumazawa (via Google Translate). “So, if you’re planning to play it, clearing the main story during Golden Week would be just right for you to be able to play it.”<\/p>\n This year, Golden Week falls between April 29 and May 6. It’s a stretch of four national holidays in Japan, and a very popular time for family vacations and school trips. (It’s also a great time to score some deals on video games.) If the Requiem <\/em>devs are urging players to get the game completed during Golden Week, that suggests the mini-game will launch soon after May 6.<\/p>\n According to Nakanishi and Kumazawa, tough battles will be a highlight of the upcoming mini-game.<\/p>\n “For those who have cleared the main story and are thinking, ‘I still haven’t had enough fun!’ I think you’ll be able to enjoy this and go ‘Whoa!!,’ so sharpen your tomahawk and wait,” Nakanishi told Denfaminico Gamer.<\/p>\n Both Resident Evil Village <\/em>and the Resident Evil 4<\/em> remake received the fan-favorite Mercenaries mode shortly after launch, so a similar mode for Requiem<\/em> seems to be the most likely possibility here. Mercenaries is an arcade-style action mode where you’re tasked with slaying as many baddies as possible within a limited amount of time. Previous iterations of the mini-game have featured numerous unlockable characters and stages. Some versions of Mercenaries also require players to have a completed game save file, though that’s not always the case.<\/p>\n Denfaminico Gamer also asked about the ongoing mystery surrounding Leon wearing what appears to be a wedding ring in the game’s final moments. Nakanishi confirmed that the story behind that ring would be explained someday, “but that ‘someday’ isn’t now.” He added, “I initially thought that this was simply meant to portray Leon’s changes as he aged, and that the identity of his partner wasn’t important in the conclusion of Requiem<\/em>, but I guess that’s not entirely true.”<\/p>\n Whether that means we’ll have to wait until Requiem<\/em>‘s story DLC comes out or a future Resident Evil installment to learn more about Leon’s love life remains to be seen.<\/p>\n ![\"Resident](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/re9_ss_02.png?q=49&fit=crop&w=140&h=98&dpr=2\"\/)
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