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

Kaan Serin
·2 min read
An assassin on the roof of Assassin's Creed Codename Red.
An assassin on the roof of Assassin's Creed Codename Red.

Information about Assassin'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 publisher Ubisoft, who just made an oopsie and potentially 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-delisted YouTube video from j0nathan. 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 by Insider 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 for Assassin's Creed Infinity news, the series' mysterious, connecting hub.

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