Aveline is the only female protagonist to date

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag has been officially revealed - we now know it'll be hitting North American shores on 29th October before setting sail for Europe for a 1st November release. The next instalment in the series will have you take control of Edward Kenway, the father of Haytham Kenway from the previous game.

Of the four mainstream Assassin's Creed titles, all of the protagonists - Altaïr, Ezio, Connor and now Edward - have been male.

In a recent interview with IGN, Black Flag's director Ashraf Ismail revealed Ubisoft have flirted with the idea of using a female lead, but he said Assassin's Creed III and IV had their stories set in stone long ago:

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Really early on, we decided to tell the story of the Kenways. So we already had in place the idea to tell Edward, Haytham, and Connor.

As for the future, it appears Ubisoft is open to a female protagonist starring, with Ismail saying:

I would say it wouldn't be surprising to see a female assassin coming up in a mainline Assassin's Creed. But for us, for Assassin's Creed IV, it was always Edward.

I actually don't know what the brand team is working on for the next few games. But the concept of a female assassin, I can tell you it's not a no-no, it's not something we're trying to avoid at all.

The only leading lady ever to grace the Assassin's Creed series was Aveline de Grandpré in the PlayStation Vita exclusive Assassin's Creed III: Liberation.

What are your thoughts on these comments from Ubisoft? Would you like to see a lead female assassin in the future? Let us know in the comments below.

[source uk.ign.com]