The Leon S. Kennedy expansion continues to drive record-breaking Mercenaries mode scores as a Japanese speedrunner posts a historic 5,024,700 point run.
Nearly two weeks after Capcom unleashed Update 2.0 for Resident Evil 9: Requiem — adding Leon S. Kennedy as a fully playable character with a dedicated story expansion and new Mercenaries content — the community continues to push the game to new heights. Yesterday, Japanese speedrunner @Yukikaze_RE achieved what many had considered impossible: the first-ever 5 million point score in Mercenaries mode.
The record-breaking run took place on the "Requiem Atrium" map, one of three new maps added in Update 2.0. Yukikaze utilized Leon's unique loadout — the Silver Ghost pistol paired with his exclusive "Combat Knife Expertise" passive — to chain together a flawless 152-kill streak across all seven waves. The run lasted exactly 27 minutes and 43 seconds, with Yukikaze maintaining an average combo multiplier of 84x throughout the final three waves.
What makes this record particularly significant is how it validates Capcom's design philosophy for the Leon expansion. Unlike the base game's protagonist Ethan Winters — whose defensive playstyle rewards careful resource management — Leon's kit is built around aggressive crowd control. His exclusive "Zombie Kick" melee attack can stagger groups of standard enemies, while his knife parry windows are more generous than any other character's, enabling skilled players to maintain momentum in ways previously impossible.
"Leon's moveset fundamentally changes how you approach Mercenaries," explained prominent RE speedrunner and content creator @ResiGod in a recent analysis video. "With Ethan, you're always thinking about survival. With Leon, you're thinking about the next kill. It's a completely different psychology, and that's why we're seeing scores that would have been unthinkable two weeks ago."
Capcom has also been paying attention. In a brief social media post following the new record, the official Resident Evil account congratulated Yukikaze and teased that "Mercenaries mode still has a few secrets left to discover." This has led to speculation that an even higher-tier scoring threshold — potentially tied to a hidden unlockable — may exist beyond 5 million points.
Meanwhile, Capcom's upcoming gamescom 2026 presence has been confirmed, with many fans hoping for news on the rumored Code: Veronica remake or further RE:9 DLC plans. For now, though, the Mercenaries leaderboards remain the center of attention, and the race for 6 million points has already begun.