News video games 21 July 2020, 22:49

AC: Odyssey Was Planned to Have Only Female Protagonist

Kassandra was originally supposed to be the only playable character in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. This idea was rejected by (now former) creative director of Ubisoft.

The main character of the game, Kassandra.

Gaming journalist Jason Schreier conducted detailed interviews with more than 40 Ubisoft employees, focusing on the subject of mobbing and other unethical practices used by the studio's executives. From the interviews he also learned an important fact about Assassin's Creed: Odyssey.

It turns out that the choice of the character's gender was not in the creators' plans from the very beginning. The developers agreed that the main character would be Kassandra, but this did not meet with the approval of the marketing team. Serge Hascoet, then creative director, who no longer works for the company due to serious accusations of misogyny, homophobia and sexual harassment (more about the case here), also expressed his objections. He was supposed to make it clear to the development team that women in the main roles do not drive sales, so they should bet on a slightly safer solution. However, it is enough to look at the results of such titles as Horizon Zero Dawn or The Last of Us Part II to question this thesis.

Karol Laska

His adventure with journalism began with a personal blog, the name of which is no longer worth quoting. Then he interpreted Iranian dramas and the Joker, writing for cinematography journal, which, sadly, no longer exists. His writing credentials include a degree in film studies, but his thesis was strictly devoted to video games. He has been writing for Gamepressure since March 2020, first writing a lot about movies, then in the newsroom, and eventually, he became a specialist in everything. He currently edits and writes articles and features. A long-time enthusiast of the most bizarre indie games and arthouse cinema. He idolizes surrealism and postmodernism. He appreciates the power of absurdity. Which is probably why he also tried soccer refereeing for 2 years (with so-so results). He tends to over-philosophize, so watch out.

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Assassin's Creed: Odyssey