When players think of Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, it’s hard to do so without thinking about its badass heroine, Kassandra. She is one of the two available characters in the game, the other being her brother, Alexios. If you choose to play as her, she is the heroine – but if you choose Alexios, she is the villain, the same applying to him.
But, if a recent report regarding Ubisoft and the game holds any truth, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, the original idea was for Kassandra to be the sole playable protagonist. But the creatives at Ubisoft were told that having a sole female lead wouldn’t sell the game.
This revelation was revealed in a recent article by Jason Schreier in Bloomberg Businessweek. In it, Schreier talked to over 40 Ubisoft employees to investigate the allegations of sexism within the company. Little did he suspect that during his investigations, this bombshell would land.
According to four people who worked on the game, players didn’t originally have the option of choosing Alexios as a playable hero. When it was declared Kassandra would be the sole heroine, they “were told that wasn’t an option”. In reality, creative director of Ubisoft Serge Hascoët and Ubisoft’s marketing felt that “female protagonists wouldn’t sell”, according to the developers.
It’s suggested that by some employees in the company that this reflects the company’s internal problem with sexism. Especially, as the article points out, female-led videogames such as Tomb Raider and Horizon: Zero Dawn have done incredibly well financially – meaning Hascoët and the marketing team’s comments don’t appear to hold water.
Regardless, Kassandra being the original main character confirms suspicions observant fans have had all along. In the Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey novelisation, Kassandra is the main character of the story. Thus, there’s always been some reason to believe she is the canonical protagonist.
Are you surprised to learn Kassandra is the true main character of the game? Share your thoughts in the comments below.