Leaked Assassin's Creed Shadows details point to dual protagonists, potentially including Yasuke, Japan's first black samurai

May. 15, 2024

Both are supposedly on the hunt for revenge

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Information aboutAssassin’s Creed Shadow’s(previously Codename Red) protagonists may have been leaked prior to the game’s cinematic trailer debut.

Assassin’s Creed has always been particularly prone to leakage - even from publisherUbisoft, who just made an oopsie andpotentially revealed the game’s release date- and the series' first trip to Feudal Japan is no different. Leaked box art images feature two badass protagonists and details from normally reliable AssCreed leaker j0nathan sheds light on both.

Unlike Valhalla, which made you choose between Girl Eivor and Boy Eivor, Shadows' two main samurai seem to be two entirely different characters, according to a now-delistedYouTubevideo fromj0nathan. There’s Yasuke, who appears to be based on Japan’s first recorded black samurai, and then there’s Naoe, presumably the assassin who’s been dangerously posing on the game’s only officially revealed art, in the headline image above, for years.

Ubisoft loves revenge tales. Samurai are attracted to revenge by nature. Thus, both our (anti?) heroes are reportedly fueled, and potentially brought together, by vengeance. Yasuke is supposedly out to avenge his wife’s murder, while Naoe has some personal beef with the old rendition of the Templars, which I’m guessing is how Ubisoft ties the game into the other 912 Assassin’s Creed games.

There was also mention of potential microtransactions, buyable in-game currency, expansion packs, and season passes - the latter of which was corroborated byInsider Gaming- but before we all get our pitchforks out, this is all unconfirmed.

We’ll find out for sure soon enough. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is getting a cinematic trailer and some new, official information later today at 5pm BST, 12pm ET ahead of its release within this fiscal year.

Apart from the name and setting, details are relatively light for the upcoming game. But we do know that Shadows is another full-fat, full-bloat RPG following in the footsteps of Valhalla and Odyssey, rather than the stripped-down stealthy stabathon of Mirage. Also worth keeping an eye out forAssassin’s Creed Infinitynews, the series' mysterious, connecting hub.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Believe it or not, there are a zillion otherupcoming Assassin’s Creed games in development.

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows' “core fight mechanics are the same” for both protagonists, but some enemies will be “more aggressive towards Naoe” and “fearful of Yasuke”

Now that Assassin’s Creed Syndicate has 60fps, are you ready to admit that it’s one of the best AC games ever?

Henry Cavill breaks silence on Warhammer TV show and teases the amount of work that’s already been put into the project