'Yasuke became the obvious choice for us to put in the game' Assassin's
Creed Shadows art director on the series' 'first historical protagonist' one year post launch

Date:
Sat, 21 Mar 2026 20:00:00 +0000

Description:
Creative director Thierry Dansereau has spoken about the developer of Assassins Creed Shadows on the game's anniversary.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get the TechRadar Newsletter Sign up for
breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Assassin's Creed Shadows art director Thierry Dansereau has discussed the
game at a recent He explained why the historical figure of Yasuke was chosen to be one of the game's protagonists "It gave us the opportunity to play and view Japan as a foreigner, like most of our players," he said Assassin's
Creed Shadows is officially one year old, and art director Thierry Dansereau reflected on why his team featured the historical samurai Yasuke as a protagonist at an event held to celebrate the mark the game's anniversary.

"Yasuke is the first historical protagonist that the Assassin's Creed games have," he said. "We did that because Yasuke, from the historical knowledge that we gathered, [was] close to Oda Nobunaga, who is one of the main characters of the game." Before becoming a samurai, the historical figure was of African origin and is believed to have arrived in Japan during the Sengoku period in the service of a Jesuit missionary, an event depicted early on in the game. In addition to his closeness to Nobunaga, Dansereau said that Yasuke's status as a foreigner was a major reason why he was chosen to star
in the game. Article continues below You may like 'People were telling me, this is massive' Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke actor reflects on his role in the blockbuster game Best Assassins Creed games: every series entry ranked I can't stop playing Assassin's Creed Shadows on Nintendo Switch 2 now it no longer crashes all the time

"It gave us the opportunity to play and view Japan as a foreigner, like most of our players," he said. "He's discovering Japan at the same time as the player."

According to Dansereau, Yasuke's apparent size and strength also made him a good pick too and, alongside the inclusion of the fictional ninja Naoe, allowed the team to depict one of two "very strong fantasies" of the period: "the shinobi and the samurai."

"We didn't want to have one character archetype at all, and Yasuke was fulfilling that fantasy of the samurai quite well, while Naoe was embodying the fantasy of the shinobi," he explained. "There are many reasons, but
Yasuke became the obvious choice for us to put in the game."

At the same event, which was held in The British Museum, where footage from the game features in the ongoing Samurai exhibition , Yasuke actor Tongayi Chirisa also discussed his role in the "massive" game . Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is currently available for PC, PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X and Series S , and Nintendo Switch 2 . The best gaming consoles All the best consoles of this generation

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/yasuke-became-the-obvious-choice-for-us-to-pu t-in-the-game-assassins-creed-shadows-art-director-on-the-series-first-histori cal-protagonist-one-year-post-launch


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