Assassin’s Creed adds first transgender character
The long-running game franchise will introduce a trans character as part of its next release, designers have announced.
‘Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate’ will include the long-running series’ first transgender character.
The character – Ned Wynert – is a trans male and one of several supporting characters that act as quest givers for the game’s protagonists.
Developers Ubisoft have also updated Assassin’s Creed’s opening statement for the first time since the first game’s release in 2007.
The message states that each game was “designed, developed and produced by a multicultural team of various religious faiths and beliefs.”
Ubisoft’s decision marks a leap forward for inclusivity in the popular gaming series.
‘Syndicate’ is also the first instalment in the franchise that will allow players to choose between a male and female main character for many of its missions.
“Inclusiveness is something that’s super important for us as a team,” Assassin’s Creed Syndicate creative director Marc-Alexis Côté told Eurogamer.
“We’ve made a good push towards diversity and how we approach different subjects in the game.”
Asked about the character of Wynert, Côté said that he wanted players to meet the character and form an opinion for themselves, but added that he was an accurate reflection of “the Victorian era”.
He also discussed the team’s decision to update their opening statement, in order to reflect the “societal and cultural changes” of the past eight years.
“It felt like when we first wrote that for Assain’s Creed 1, it was something that was very inclusive,” he said.
“But I’ve had the chance to work with more than twelve different writers on Syndicate.
“At one point, one approached me and said that we were not embracing diversity fully enough,” he explained.
“I had reviewed all our crowd dialogue, I was happy with our two protagonists, but they were talking about the statement at the beginning of the game – that it was exclusive of some people. So I asked for them to propose a new statement.”
Earlier this year, a video game studio redesigned one of its male character’s after complaints he was “too sexy”.
The latest instalment in the Final Fantasy series – Mobius Final Fantasy – received criticism from fans after releasing screenshots of scantily clad protagonist Wal.
During a presentation about the game’s features this month, designers from Square Enix admitted the “sexy” male protagonist had to be toned down after complains from fans, with a decision made to cover up the protagonist’s previously bare torso.
Last year, Square Enix updated previous release final Fantasy XIV to allow for same-sex weddings.
