Report: Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate will feature a female protagonist

There are literally only a few hours left until the official reveal of Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate – the same Victorian era title that was leaked shortly after Unity hit shelves last year. And while we know where it’s going to be set, there’s very little else to go on. The leak did show off a dark, brooding male protagonist in a top hat, but it seems like he could be joined by another staring lead.

According to a report from Kotaku, Syndicate will feature two protagonists that players will periodically switch between. The lead character is suspected to be named Jacob, but players will apparently also take control of his sister (and partner in underground, English crime), Evie. The report suggests that gameplay will have a 75% to 25% split – similar to the way The Witcher 3 handles Geralt and his former apprentice, Ciri. You will, however, be able to freely switch between the two in-between missions.

The same report also indicates that Syndicate will not feature a multiplayer mode, although it’s unclear whether or not this includes any co-op.

Ubisoft was at the centre of a lot of controversy around this time last year regarding female characters in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It was revealed at E3 that female assassin’s were removed from Unity’s co-op mode, as they would require “double the animations” in comparison to male characters. Unsurprisingly, these comments weren’t taken at face value – and it’s an insult flung at the French developers to this day still.

Assassin’s Creed has now featured two female leads, with both Liberation and the recently release Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China diversifying their roster a little. Both, however, are not core entires into the franchise – which would make Evie’s inclusion something new.

And it makes perfect sense too. Ubisoft are no strangers to bad press, but I don’t think they particularly like it. Whether or not out of pure intention to amend for the mistakes made last year or simply avoid the same reaction, I suspect Evie and her playability will be a big marketing point for the publisher leading up to the end of year release for Syndicate. We will, however, know for certain today (or at least at E3).

Last Updated: May 12, 2015