Simon Lemay-Comtois, assistant game director for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, has announced that the controversial dual-main character feature could return in future Assassin’s Creed games. Lemay-Comtois stated that repurposing this system required a strong narrative and a perfect fit for the chosen historical setting. When fans of the series encountered the game set in 16th-century Japan this year, they encountered a structure never before attempted in the series.

Will the dual-main character era continue in Assassin’s Creed games?

Players can choose between Naoe, a master of stealth and parkour, and Yasuke, an armored samurai specializing in close combat. While these two characters are intertwined throughout the story, they offer players two distinctly different play styles. Yasuke is a force who confronts enemies head-on, while Naoe takes a quieter, more strategic approach. However, this diversity has also sparked some disagreement within the gaming community.

In an interview with Games Radar, director Lemay-Comtois emphasized that the studio is open-minded on this issue. However, they are also aware that the dual-character system can be divisive. Some players may warm to one character more than the other and may not want to spend time with the other. However, there are also a large number of people who argue that this system increases replayability by offering different gameplay styles.

This isn’t the first time Ubisoft has experimented with this system. In 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, players could control siblings Jacob and Evie Frye, but their playstyles weren’t significantly different. Odyssey, on the other hand, had to choose a single character from the outset. Shadows broke new ground by completely separating characters mechanically.

Regarding future plans, there are strong rumors that the next step in the series will be a remake of Black Flag. Leaks indicate that the project is in development and that the official announcement could be made at the Game Awards 2025 ceremony on December 11th. If these rumors are true, the likelihood of us seeing a dual-character system in the next game is quite low.

So, what are your thoughts on the dual-character system in the Assassin’s Creed series? Do you think games should focus on a single, powerful main character, or does having two characters with different abilities enrich the experience?