Assassin's Creed Shadows backlash won't stop Ubisoft from going down the dual-protagonist route in the future "if we have a good reason to do it"

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Assassin's Creed Shadows backlash won't stop Ubisoft from going down the dual-protagonist route in the future "if we have a good reason to do it" News By Kaan Serin published 7 December 2025

Backlash toward Yasuke and Naoe hasn't scared Ubisoft too much

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(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Shadows was the subject of both heated fan debate and gross toxicity from online culture war warriors, but associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois recently said all the drama hasn't scared Ubisoft away from making a game with dual protagonists in the future if it makes sense to do so.

"Dual protagonists can be divisive along very strange lines, right?" Lemay-Comtois said of the discourse around Naoe and Yasuke in an interview with GamesRadar+. "It's not just a 'Well, I prefer a war, therefore I prefer Yasuke.' Some people just don't like one character over the other, and they don't like to spend time with one. It was true with [Assassin's Creed Syndicate's] Evie and Jacob, but with Naoe and Yasuke it's more divisive. And we knew this. We knew going into it, but I think it can split our fan base a little too."

What Lemay-Comtois doesn't specifically name is the racist backlash toward co-protagonist Yasuke, Japan's first ever black samurai who actually existed in history. Series executive producer Marc-Alexis Côté previously said the backlash around Yasuke's existence in the game were "attacks driven by intolerance."

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Still, it's encouraging to hear the studio doesn't regret its decision and it's also not shying away from dual protagonists either. "I think the learning for us is that, yes, we could do more dual-protagonist games in the future – if we have a good reason to do it narratively and for the setting," Lemay-Comtois added.

New Assassin's Creed Shadows update includes a big Odyssey Easter egg and the devs have an entire Kassandra-focused story under wraps: "We might reveal it at some point"

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES Xbox Series X PS5 PC Gaming Nintendo Switch 2 Platforms Xbox PlayStation Nintendo Kaan SerinFreelance contributor

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.

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