Resident Evil Requiem doesn't reunite Leon and the Merchant, likely because the shopkeeper was left 3 trillion in debt after their last encounter in Resident Evil 4 Remake

Here's some fun trivia to celebrate Resident Evil 4 Remake's third anniversary: The Merchant's been left with a probably crippling debt of over three trillion pesetas after his last run in with Leon Kennedy.

Capcom says as much in a tweet about the action-horror game's third birthday. "The Merchant's debt has ballooned way past 3 trillion by now," the publisher states, explaining that while Leon spent almost 40 trillion ptas on the shopkeeper's supplies, he also sold over 43 trillion ptas' worth of goods to the enigmatic man, putting his total losses at over three trillion ptas. "That's a lot of rocket launchers," indeed.

So if you were wondering why the Merchant didn't reunite with hot uncle Leon in Resident Evil Requiem – or why he's barely showed up in the series since – well, it's probably because he's been saddled with a seemingly insurmountable debt to pay off. Pesetas haven't been in circulation in Spain's economy for a couple decades, so it's hard to calculate an exact conversion, but three trillion ptas is still a few billion euros no matter what math you use.

Capcom's revelation does raise a few questions, though. Did the Merchant have no other customers? Does his existing debt mean he actually survived the explosion at the end of the game? Is he using offshore accounts? Didn't the bulk of Leon's money come from gems and treasures, items that only appreciate in price? Maybe he's just waiting to flip his assets at a higher price, but, come on, man, it's been decades.

Regardless, the Merchant's debt is only due to grow. Since Resident Evil Requiem's release, almost every older game in the series has been seeing major player count boosts, meaning there's plenty more players looking to swindle the shopkeeper every day.

Resident Evil Requiem's Grace actor did "a lot of research" into panic disorders, which makes playing the game with a real-life anxiety condition the scariest the series has ever been.