An Assassin's Creed Valhalla gender rumor that posited Eivor was supposed to only be female and was gaining traction has been shot down by the game's narrative director, Darby McDevitt, in a Reddit thread discussing the rumor's potential accuracy. Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the latest instalment in the franchise, and its male and female versions of Eivor aren't the first time that Ubisoft has implemented such a system in its games.
It is, however, the first game to feature a male and female protagonist option since reports surfaced suggesting that Ubisoft had previously shot down Assassin's Creed games having just a female lead. According to those reports, Assassin's Creed Odyssey was supposed to feature Kassandra only, with brother Alexios added later largely at the behest of former executive Serge Hascoët - who has been accused of misogynistic misconduct and has since been removed from the company. With Alexios often receiving criticism for lacking depth when compared to Kassandra, the report makes a lot of sense - and is also a source of disappointment for fans who have hoped for a sole female protagonist in a major Assassin's Creed game at some point.
This particular Assassin's Creed Valhalla gender rumor got its start on Twitter from someone who claimed that Ashraf Ismail, another Ubisoft employee facing allegations of inappropriate conduct and the former creative director on Assassin's Creed Valhalla, had pushed for a female Eivor only and gotten shot down by higher-ups. This spiraled into a Reddit thread that compiled evidence that suggested Eivor was supposed to be female-only, but Assassin's Creed Valhalla narrative director Darby McDevitt responded to the post, stating that it is "not wholly accurate" and that the game was "conceived from the beginning with both female and male [Eivor] in mind."
McDevitt certainly knows better than any of the fans speculating on the game from the outside, so without more tangible evidence from the other side of the debate, it seems this Assassin's Creed Valhalla gender rumor has been shot down for now. It's also important to note that McDevitt acknowledges the vagueness with which this rumor has been refuted, but states that "to go deeper would spoil lots of the mysteries at the heart of the game." It seems like it will be difficult to fully resolve any debate over the intentions regarding Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Eivor's gender without actually being able to play the game.
For now, though, it seems like the Assassin's Creed Valhalla gender rumor is nothing but speculation, and the game has been built with both a male and female protagonist in mind. This lines up with what was said previously - that gender-swapping in Assassin's Creed Valhalla would make sense in practice - and should dispel notions that Valhalla isn't the game the team wanted it to be from its conception. Whether that translates into a title that has strong gameplay and narrative as a whole, however, won't become clear until consumers get their hands on the game.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla releases on November 17 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and will release at a later date for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
Source: Reddit/Darby McDevitt