The internet exploded when rumors first started swirling about Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary representation. It wasn't just a quiet whisper in a Discord server; it became a full-blown culture war flashpoint before anyone had even seen a single frame of gameplay. You've probably seen the headlines. Some people were stoked about more inclusive RPG mechanics, while others were convinced Ubisoft was "rewriting history" for the sake of a checklist.
But here’s the thing.
Most of the early discourse was based on a massive misunderstanding of how the game actually functions. If you're looking for a "gender slider" or a non-binary pronoun selector for the two main protagonists, you aren't going to find it. Ubisoft didn't go the Cyberpunk 2077 or Starfield route here. They stuck to their guns with two very specific, very fixed historical figures—or at least, figures rooted in a specific historical context.
The Naoe and Yasuke Dynamic
We need to talk about who these people actually are. You’ve got Naoe, a shinobi from the province of Iga, and Yasuke, the African samurai who actually served under Oda Nobunaga. In Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary discussions, people often conflate "player choice" with "identity customization." In this game, you don't create a character from scratch. You inhabit two pre-defined roles.
Naoe is a woman. Yasuke is a man.
Ubisoft's lead producer, Karl Onnée, and the creative team at Ubisoft Québec have been pretty transparent about the fact that these characters have set narratives. Unlike Assassin's Creed Odyssey, where you chose between Alexios and Kassandra to play the exact same story, or Valhalla, where Eivor could "switch" genders because of DNA glitches in the Animus, Shadows treats its leads as distinct individuals. They have different movesets, different social standing in feudal Japan, and different gear.
The confusion about Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary elements largely stems from a leak regarding the game's "hub" or customization menus. Some early playtest reports mentioned a "gender-neutral" approach to certain armor sets and cosmetic items. Basically, Ubisoft wanted to make sure that if you unlocked a cool piece of gear, it didn't feel weirdly gendered or restricted in a way that felt "gamey."
Why the Non Binary Conversation Started
Gaming is weird now. Honestly, it's exhausting.
The spark for the Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary debate really caught fire when streamers began speculating that the game would allow players to identify as "they/them" within the Animus interface. This turned out to be a bit of a reach. While Ubisoft has been a leader in adding non-binary NPCs and gender-fluid options in other titles—think Far Cry 6 or the various side quests in Valhalla—Shadows is a bit more rigid because it’s trying to ground itself in the Sengoku period.
History is messy.
There's a lot of nuance in how gender was perceived in 16th-century Japan, particularly within the context of nanshoku and the specific roles of onmitsu (spies). However, Ubisoft isn't exactly making a documentary. They're making a blockbuster action game. They want to sell copies to everyone. That means balancing "historical vibes" with modern player expectations.
If you're looking for where the "non-binary" influence actually shows up, look at the UI and the progression systems. The game moves away from rigid "male" and "female" skill trees. Instead, it focuses on "Shinobi" versus "Samurai." It’s a shift from biological identity to functional roleplay. You aren't playing as "the male version of the hero"; you're playing as Yasuke, a tank who smashes through gates. You aren't "the female lead"; you're Naoe, a shadow who crawls on ceilings.
The "Sweet Baby Inc" Echo Chamber
You can't talk about Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary rumors without mentioning the elephant in the room: the consultancy backlash. A vocal segment of the gaming community pointed at companies like Sweet Baby Inc., claiming they forced "DEI" (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) into the game’s DNA.
The reality?
Ubisoft has had internal diversity teams for over a decade. They didn't need an outside firm to tell them to include diverse perspectives; it's been their brand since the very first Assassin's Creed disclaimer about being "developed by a multicultural team of various religious faiths and beliefs."
The "non-binary" tag often gets thrown around as a catch-all for anything that isn't a traditional masculine power fantasy. Because Naoe is a lethal, front-and-center protagonist and Yasuke is a historical outsider, the game became a magnet for these debates. People started searching for Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary because they expected a scandal. What they found instead was a dual-protagonist system that is actually quite traditional for the series.
Customization and the Animus
Let's get into the weeds of the mechanics.
In Assassin's Creed Shadows, the Animus acts as the bridge. Historically, the Animus has been used as a narrative excuse for "gameplay liberties." If a player wanted to change their appearance, the game hand-waved it as a "cosmetic overlay."
While the protagonists themselves have fixed genders, the customization options for their "Hideout" and certain gear pieces are where the boundaries blur. You've got freedom. You can deck out your base in ways that don't strictly adhere to "masculine" or "feminine" aesthetics of the era. This is where the game feels most modern. It gives you the "Shadows" experience without forcing you into a specific box of how a 1500s warrior "should" look when they aren't on the battlefield.
- Naoe’s Gear: Can be sleek, rugged, or surprisingly ornate.
- Yasuke’s Armor: Ranges from heavy traditional plates to more experimental, fusion styles.
- The UI: Clean, minimalist, and intentionally designed to be identity-agnostic.
It's a smart move. By keeping the characters fixed but the world-building flexible, Ubisoft avoids the "identity vacuum" that sometimes happens in RPGs where the main character feels like a blank piece of cardboard.
What the Fans Actually Want
People want a good game. Period.
The noise around Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary options usually dies down about five minutes after someone actually starts playing. Once you’re parrying a katana strike or leaping off a pagoda into a hay bale, you aren't thinking about the character's pronouns. You're thinking about the timing of your hidden blade.
Ubisoft Québec knows this. They're the same studio that gave us Odyssey, which was arguably the most "player-choice" heavy game in the franchise. With Shadows, they're trying to find a middle ground. They want the narrative weight of a fixed character like Ezio, but with the modern inclusivity of a 2020s RPG.
Is it perfect? Probably not.
Is it the "end of gaming" as some Twitter threads suggest? Definitely not.
The inclusion of non-binary themes or characters in side content is a staple of the series now. It reflects the real world—and real history—which has always been more complicated than a simple M/F checkbox. If you encounter a character in a sub-quest who doesn't fit the gender binary, it's not a "glitch in the Matrix"; it's just Ubisoft trying to populate their version of Japan with a variety of human experiences.
Technical Reality Check
Let's be clear on the technical side. The game engine, Anvil, has been updated specifically for Shadows to handle better lighting and destructible environments. These technical leaps are way more impactful on your experience than the gender of the person holding the controller.
If you’re worried that the Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary elements will "ruin the immersion," you’re likely overthinking it. The immersion is broken more by guards who can't see you standing in a bush than by the presence of inclusive character options.
The game’s map is roughly the size of Origins, focused on the heart of Japan. This scale allows for deep storytelling. Within that story, the developers have stated they want players to feel "represented," but they haven't sacrificed the specific story of Yasuke and Naoe to do it. You are stepping into their shoes, not your own.
How to Approach the Game
If you're jumping into Shadows and you care about the identity politics of it all, here is my advice: look at the historical footnotes.
Ubisoft usually ships these games with a "Discovery Tour." This mode is where the real facts live. If there are Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary themes, the Discovery Tour will likely contextualize them within the actual history of Japan. The Sengoku period was a time of massive social upheaval. Roles were shifting. Foreigners were arriving. The "old ways" were dying.
In that kind of chaos, identity is always fluid.
Whether you play for the stealth, the combat, or the historical tourism, the game is designed to be a wide tent. It’s not a manifesto. It’s an expensive, polished piece of entertainment that wants to be everything to everyone. That usually means it lands somewhere in the middle—progressive enough to feel modern, but traditional enough to feel like Assassin's Creed.
Actionable Takeaways for Players
If you're still confused about how gender and identity work in this title, keep these points in mind:
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- Don't expect a character creator. You are playing as Naoe or Yasuke. Their genders are set in the narrative.
- Focus on the "Style" system. Customization is about how you play (stealth vs. combat) rather than rewriting the character's biology.
- Check the side quests. This is where Ubisoft typically places its more diverse character representations and non-binary NPCs.
- Ignore the "Leaked" UI screenshots. Most of the pre-launch "leaks" regarding pronoun selectors were faked or taken from different internal testing builds that didn't make it to the final game.
- Use the Gear Transmog. If you don't like the "look" of a certain character's armor, the transmog system usually lets you swap visuals without losing stats, allowing for a more personalized aesthetic.
The conversation around Assassin's Creed Shadows non binary options is a classic example of how modern gaming news gets distorted. It’s a mix of genuine desire for representation and a reactionary fear of change. At the end of the day, the game is a dual-protagonist stealth-action epic. Yasuke and Naoe are who they are. You just get to decide how many people they kill on their way to their goals.
Check the official Ubisoft blogs for the final word on patch notes and accessibility features, as those often include the most up-to-date info on identity settings and UI customization. Stop listening to the rage-bait videos and just look at the dev diaries. That's where the truth is.