The GameStop website might have inadvertently given information on a peculiar second playable character of Capcom’s Resident Evil Requiem. A short while ago, the product page for the game’s Deluxe Edition was said to have somehow suggested that Rosemary Winters would be a prime character with the sole other officially confirmed protagonist, Grace Ashcroft. The retail page mentioned certain bonus cosmetics for Rose, a character last seen as a child in the epilogue of Resident Evil Village. The general assumption now is that this was an unauthorized disclosure, which was extinguished by the retailer perhaps due to an inadvertent leak of an early spoiler.
The insertion of Rosemary Winters, the daughter of Ethan Winters, throws a key spanner in the works for various rumors regarding the game’s roster. Speculations have recently reared their heads, suggesting the highly regarded Leon Kennedy might join the game as one of the main playable characters. Although previously there were hints at three playable characters, the latest retail news appears to put Rose right in the second protagonist position, countering Kennedy’s anticipated reprisal. Now it even gets fans debating on whether the game would have branching character paths or if current store leaks referring to Leon and Rose contradict one another.
The biggest point of contention within the community regarding the Rose leak has been the timeline contradiction. In light of currently known narrative facts about Grace Ashcroft, Rosemary Winters should be about six or seven years old. For her actually to be a fully controllable character in a mainline survival horror title, much of Resident Evil Requiem would, very likely, have to be set long into the future, while years after Grace’s segment. This timeline discrepancy is the main reason many are expressing doubt as to the GameStop listing; however, the very rapid retraction of it may add some credence to the notion that perhaps this was an accidental reveal.
Capcom has yet to confirm either Rosemary Winters or Leon Kennedy as playable characters. Therefore, all the information from retail listings and unknown sources is to be considered pure rumor. Fortunately for the fans, the time period until the truth will be revealed is not too far ahead, as Resident Evil Requiem is set to make a grand showing at The Game Awards on December 11, where Capcom is expected to clear up the cast and storyline.
