Assassin's Creed Shadows reportedly stars the most famous black samurai in Japanese history

Ubisoft is ready to announce the next installment in the Assassin's Creed series. Assassin's Creed Shadows, in the course of the day. Everyone in the gaming landscape is excited about the upcoming title and excited to see where Ubisoft takes the franchise.

However, there are various details about the upcoming one Assassin's Creed Games have already been leaked in a typical Ubisoft faction. These include key details about the game's post-launch roadmap and story details, and give us a look at Yasuke, who will appear in Shadows as Japan's first black samurai.

Leaks give a first insight into the main protagonists of Assassin's Creed Shadows

While Unisoftt is set to release the theatrical trailer for Assassin's Creed Shadows As of May 15, 2024, several images of the Shadows' most important artworks have already leaked online. The images were first posted by user fraxR7. However, the original images have since been deleted and EndyMionYT has uploaded them to her X/Twitter account.

According to the leaks, the black male samurai character is Yasuke, based on Japan's first black samurai who served under Japanese Daimyo Oda Nobunaga in the 15th century. The other protagonist is a female character named Naoe, who may be a gender-swapped version of Naoe Kanetsugu.

Shadows is set in the 16th century and will most likely focus on the rivalry of the Portuguese in Japan, which provides a fitting backdrop for the series' villains, the Templars. Given the time period, we'll likely see other non-Japanese characters like Willian Adams.

However, many community members are already disappointed that the game will not focus entirely on the Japanese protagonist. While Yasuke's true story is fascinating, some players wanted Ubisoft to include an exclusively Japanese protagonist. Some fans in the community have also called the decision to feature a black character “woke.” However, it is known that Yasuke holds an important place in Japanese history.

Who is Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows?

While Yasuke's story is primarily seen in works of fiction, he was actually a real person, which is why the first protagonist in the franchise fits this description. Historically, Yasuke served as a retainer to a Japanese daimyo during the Sengoku period.

However, Yasuke's story underwent a major rewrite in 2011 Assassin's Creed shows. In the game he takes on the role of a slave who travels across the ocean on a slave ship. He faces an unknown force that attacks. In the battle, everyone, including his lover, is slaughtered. However, Yasuke survives and is taken to Japan, where he learns about samurai life under Nobunga's service.