Assassin’s Creed Shadows One Piece Connection Will Please Netflix Fans

A new character has just been announced by Ubisoft for Assassin’s Creed Shadows that will have One Piece fans excited as the actor Mackenyu Arata has just been revealed to have made their video game debut by providing their voice and likeness to an NPC character within Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Beginning to Liven up With a Major Casting Reveal

Recently it was revealed that Mackenyu Arata, who is most commonly known for their roles in works such as Knight of the Zodiac, Dragons of Wonderhatch, and most recently the Netflix One Piece live-action series, will be debuting in their first video game role within Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

At the time of writing, very little information is known about this character except for the fact that they are an NPC called Gennojo that players can meet on their travels as both Naeo and Yasuke, and they can recruit them to their village as part of the Shinobi League. According to an interview that took place with Variety, Mackenyu has stated that Gennojo will be a key character that will assist in tracking and even helping the main characters in taking down certain targets.

Along with this, according to Mackenyu, players will also be able to take Gennojo throughout the game with them, as he describes it as “you can basically recruit him into their team and play along in the game,” while also stating that players can choose what they want to do and what they don’t want to do with the character.

So far, the description for Gennojo is fairly different from his role within One Piece, with him being a charming character, unlike the rough and gruff character we have all witnessed, but unfortunately, it is highly unlikely we will see his character wield 3 swords at one time, even though it will be an awesome nod to One Piece.

Along with this information, we also know that Mackenyu will also be voicing both the English and Japanese voice lines for the character as well as providing his likeness to the character, which is big news for Assassin’s Creed and One Piece fans, but also good news for Mackenyu, who is also a fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

This Could Be the Start of the Future for the Assassin’s Creed Franchise

The reason this is such good news for Assassin’s Creed fans and for Mackenyu is simply down to the fact that Mackenyu is also a fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, as they also shared many fond memories of the numerous titles that Ubisoft has released over the years since it all began in 2007.

Just like many gamers, Mackenyu has very fond memories of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, even stating that when they were in middle school, the first Assassin’s Creed game was released, and they have memories of playing the game with their friends, which led to their love of the franchise.

But after hearing about the upcoming title being set in Japan, Mackenyu knew that they had to be a part of the project, and now they have managed to make that dream come true with this casting. Along with this casting, Mackenyu has also discussed in an interview with Variety about their love for the franchise, even going as far as saying that if a live-action series is in the making with Netflix, they should “Please get my name in that.“.

This is only the start of the astounding cast that could be hiding from us within Assassin’s Creed Shadows. With just over a month before release, there is no telling what secrets Ubisoft is keeping from us before the game finally releases.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows release date is March 20th, 2025, barring another delay, and is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Mac.

For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out these controversies for Assassin’s Creed Shadows that prove fans aren’t always right and how Bloodborne 2 is likely on its way after a recent legal move from Sony.