Ubisoft's Tragic Mishandling of Desmond Miles

Desmond Miles was the Assassin's Creed Modern Day protagonist from the original game all the way until Assassin's Creed 3. Yet it was clear as the games went on that Ubisoft did not have a plan for Desmond's character and that led to one of the more controversial story decisions in Assassin's Creed with how Assassin's Creed 3s modern day ended. In this video I explain how the characterization of Desmond Miles changed throughout the games and why Ubisoft poorly handled the character in the last couple of games...
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[@corruptedpoison1]

Its been 12 years and I'm still not over it.

[@thomaslarsen7704]

Amen to that brother.

[@ahmed.hasan_]

I just played AC:BH and was so excited about the story but turns out it's a complete mess.

[@os_oz]

I'll never ever forgive them for it.

[@KratosSpartan-ln2vk]

You guys are true assassin's Creed fans if you go on Reddit there were others who hated Desmond and this 😢 was terrible 😔 to hear Desmond miles made the modern time of the assassin's Creed cool 😎 people didn't like his personality they never gave him a chance or looked at it, at his point of view Desmond miles is what got me interested in assassin's Creed going into the Animus and going back into the past to live and see through his ancestor eyes and there life

[@tristenbearden8514]

Saw a Desmond video and had to watch, can't stand what they did to my boy

[@Desert_Eagle006]

Ikr he was a badass

[@savasan1895]

I still have as a head cannon that Desmond is still alive and used the apple of Eden to make illusions to even trick Juno and the Templars to think he is dead, and now just waits in the shadows to serve the Creed if necessary in the direst of situations, in a next game

[@Ash-Winchester]

No, lucy's death was not the original plan. The only reason they killed her off is because her voice actor, Kristen Bell, demanded a higher pay, so they killed off her character so that they wouldn't have to hire Bell anymore. Whether it was penny pinching or just being unable to meet her demand is kind of up in the air.

[@damndatscrazyyy940]

Damn 💀

[@space.pirate481]

well original plan by co-creator of Ac for Desmond was to become the ultimate assasin and take down Abstergo once and for all,but was eventually fired by Ubisoft

[@space.pirate481]

+ if you collected all clusters in brotherhood you would know why Desmond killed Lucy, since explained more once you collected, that she was a double agent

[@jojocasimir1118]

lol why they fire him ?

[@radekbejbl1]

​@@space.pirate481 Lol Kirsten Bell had contract for 3 games that's why story was changed,original ending was Desmond and Lucy ending in that shuttle mentioned throughout the games,but greed took over and the rest is history 😢

[@space.pirate481]

@@radekbejbl1 idk about that ,ik only about Desmond original plan, e well

[@ninjafrog6966]

@@space.pirate481which is really stupid and feels like it comes out of nowhere. it’s not a developed plotline at all. killing lucy off was a stupid decision

[@enzoamore8971]

Ubisoft didn't care about Desmond. Once Patrice fully left, they were already desperately trying to get rid of him. They knew where the money was actually coming from, it was coming from being immersed in historical settings. They listened to those people, the ones who hate the modern day sections. The people who already hated the idea they were in a machine, and not fully immersed in a historical setting. They've been here since AC1 by the way. I'd argue that Desmond never got the spotlight he deserved like his ancestors. He was the main character, yet Ezio was the poster boy. All of his ancestors were merely supposed to be stepping stones for him to learn from, but they kept trying to hide him in the marketing. Ezio got three games, which i think he should've never had. Giving Ezio three games made had him replace Desmond in a way. It doesnt matter though, who cares about Desmond anyway? They didn't kill him off because they were bold and wanted to add to the writing, they killed him off because the modern day was getting in the way of their historical tour simulator money maker. To Ubisoft, the publisher company, killing off Desmond was the best decision they ever made. Now you can see they're trying to completly wipe away the animus now too. They don't want to be reminded that they're in a animus, or that they're really not in the past.

[@CashVader]

You changed your pfp? Thus is the best one ive ever seen

[@Tony-rh2lp]

I though this was someone else until I heard the voice😂

[@sinload]

Thank god he changed it

[@levin4124]

The last one was better it was so cute

[@Gustavv.v]

@@Tony-rh2lpme tio

[@antoniocamacho4412]

I prefer his old Ezio profile pic

[@JEAGERlST]

I wish he took the other option in the end of AC 3.

[@STRmw2]

ive been mad about this for like a decade all they had to do was bring him back at the right time - the apple let al mualim make copies, they could have written that it was one of desmonds copies that was killed

[@mattbettcher7439]

Al Mualim says that all the apple does is conjure illusions, so i dont know if his copy could actually interact with objects? I always thought that it was all in altairs mind (when al Mualim copies himself) and in Rodrigo’s head when ezio copies himself? I could be wrong safety and peace brother

[@STRmw2]

@@mattbettcher7439 maybe i dont fully remember those details tbh - anything would be better than what they did by just killing him off and then trying to recycle the idea with that light entity

[@mattbettcher7439]

@@STRmw2 yeah fair enough i dont know man, its a little disappointing knowing where they were originally going to take him

[@evandroescutatrap131]

Honestly I think we should get a new character. Desmond had a descent "ending" with Layla at the end of Valhalla (the best thing that game gave us was Layla's ending and Basim). Killing Desmond wasn't the problem imo, not been able to create a new modern day protagonist is.

[@TheHiddenOne690]

Welcome back 🎉

[@spikeboy6920]

Ubisofts sad mishandling of every Ubisoft game

[@Wesleyy_]

to quote one of the best films ever made "look at how they massacred my boy 😢"

[@gamingwithz659]

Bro the pfp goes crazy, when i saw it i thought it was someone else

[@CinematicSeriesGaming]

One reason why AC3's ending is so unsatisfying might be the fact that the story of the entire Desmond Saga takes place in 2012 and hinges on this idea that the world is going to end that year. It's possible the devs really wanted to wrap up the saga before December 21st 2012 happened in real life.

[@Hidden_Creed]

Love the new pfp and glad you are back from your break and feeling refreshed my friend!!

[@Hunterszsss]

Nice pfp, looks nice. Desmond is just amazing, so sad what they did to him, he was the reason i continued to play AC after AC 1, which made me fall in love with the series. Anyway, are you gonna talk about xDefiant btw?

[@rt9524]

Thank you so much for finally addressing this glaring issue with the franchise. I feel like you read one of my comments on your previous videos and I just feel like due to how mishandled yet important Desmond is to the foundation of everything. That nobodys top farvorite assassins in these games list can be truly complete without mention this in my opinion criminally underrated guy

[@Eddieavina123]

Love your video and a new logo nice, and yes, I agree I miss him ngl

[@stevenmoinian5511]

Damn! The new pfp looks sick!! My favorite one yet

[@Im_scared_0f_w0men0]

Welcome back man, nice pfp btw

[@JavadMaro434]

All these years later and I am still salty about Desmond's mishandling. This storyline had so much potential and they just dropped the ball so bad. Playing as him while going through his ancestors' memories gave me a sense of legacy, actually made me feel the weight of history that was once carried by the likes of Altaïr and Ezio, and that now was Desmond's duty to see things through to the end. Only for him to be killed and sidelined for the rest of the series. First time I got so engaged in a story as well, as if it wasn't bad enough. Other than Game of Thrones S8, I had never been so let down by a work of fiction storywise.

[@janklimek9972]

Hello, I’m new to this channel, don’t know where to start. 1. Love the name of your channel 2. Love your new cover 3. Love how you keep the video simple, no ads, no extravagant special effects or so Now my thoughts 💭 Everything you said is true and I couldn’t agree more with you. I personally also love the modern days, and especially Desmond’s character. As you said - at the beginning his story was so interesting and eye catching. I remember way back when AC2 was released how people were complaining about the modern days, that they don’t fit in the game and similar nonsense. I can feel that it’s just part of the game, plain and simple. Soundtrack of each of the title is like from another world = absolutely epic Revelations was very emotional, could have felt it right from the beginning in the menu, to this day I get goosebumps whenever I hear the music. The composer deserves all awards that are out there. Next thing I need to mention, as you also said it in the video, is how emotionless was Desmond’s story in AC3. I felt the same way. It was good, but it felt like it was added there BECAUSE it MUST be there and also to close Desmond’s storyline. Personally I also feel like there was way more potential to his story. I enjoyed every single moment with him. Not even mentioning his facial changes, like even in Revelations he already looked different, which I attributed to the fact that it was taking place some longer time after the events in AC: Brotherhood. In AC3 the change was so significant, but he honestly looked like neanderthal 😅 Ubisoft wanted/needed to created another AC game, yet there is always so much going on behind the scenes, so we can only speculate what was what and why cutting Demond off. Another potential theory is that they thought that there has been enough of Desmond, so “let’s end it here”. I also didn’t expect such “quick” end of his story. Your example with a book in the video is as precise as a sun in the sky when it is clear. Personally I played an finished almost all titles, but Odyssey, Valhalla and Mirage are on my list, yet will need 100+ hours to finish them 😂 Back to this video: I also thought that they deepen the soft romance between Desmond and Lucy. They would have been a great couple, honestly. The problem is, as we learn it in one AC title, don’t remember which one exactly, that Lucy was, to my big shock, a traitor. I despise traitor and I feel so sorry the creators wrote it like this. She was given orders by Vidic. When I first saw it, I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t crying, but I was so shocked and disappointed that she was a traitor. Well, I guess things can’t be always perfect, although Ubisoft could have made it absolutely perfect. I assume they had their reasons. There is no single moment where I’d not agree with what you said in the video. Thank you so much for it and can’t wait for your other projects. Will also check your other videos. Stay safe, stay blessed. And glad you’re recovered. 😇🙏

[@Berserkerenergy]

Great Video Master Assassin and love the New pfp!!!👍👍👍

[@jle1352]

Ac ended in me when they didn't let Desmond continue as the main character. When I'm playing AC4, I just feel like missing something, yes without Desmond. Years later until last year I finally got the time to try Rogue first, but it's not the same again anymore... no to mention the other ACs that came out in this decade. Requiescat in pace Desmond.

[@moseq]

New pfp is going fire 🔥

[@matthewvandenelst7134]

I'll never not be mad that we didn't get an only modern day game with Desmond as the protag

[@stadion6789]

Awesome pfp, really nice keep it up👌🏻

[@UJJAWALKAUL]

love the new channel logo

[@claytalian9091]

I kinda like what they did with him in Valhalla as the Reader, but it remains to be seen if anything good comes from it. But if the rumors are true that they're jumping ahead to the future for the modern day, they'll probably abandon the storyline like they did with Juno in Origins.

[@Newera1047]

It will most likely be abandoned unless Darby chooses to build upon it in hexe

[@enzoamore8971]

I ain't holding my breath with Ubisoft. Nothing probably won't happen. You already seen what they did with him in AC3

[@thegunlikdude]

You have made me realise ASSASINS CREED SERIES GOT NO PROTAGONIST AT ALL THE ANTAGONISTS APPEARED IN MORE GAMES THAN HIM

[@MasonPayneJericho]

AFAIK, Ubisoft only concluded a 3 year contract with Francisco Randez (Desmond's Face Model), so they couldn't use his face after 2010. A poor choice, since they already should've known that AC3 won't be finished before 2010, so... I just don't understand why Ubisoft didn't make a longer lasting contract with him...

[@dustinemerzian5989]

Desmond has gone from my cousin ronnie to less buff "The Rock" and I cant unsee that

[@windebiesteultima3317]

Profile pic lookin fresh, assassin. But man the whole thing of Desmond becoming this ultimate assassin and stopping abstergo would’ve been so badass

[@Redshield_84]

Yo the new profile pic looks clean!

[@thisisthenews1254]

I remember as a kid, i was so interested in the modern day mystery from ac2, especially with the cliff hanger and the talk of him having to track down temples, that were originally the keys to stop the end, sucks they never did that, could have had an uncharted style modern day with puzzles and some stealth sections, fighting abstergo.

[@stupor_mundi]

Totally agree Desmond deserved better, and if I remember, to add insult to injury Ubisoft actually made us see Desmond's autopsy photos in Black Flag or Rogue (don't remember well anymore) and the contents of his phone with photos and basically showing what a sweet guy he was. We worked at Abstergo so we sent those files to William Miles and the poor man had a mental breakdown and went AWOL on the Brotherhood. Btw awesome new profile picture! I didn't know you were on hiatus but I just found out Mirage is getting a sequel so I'm waiting for you to post a video about that :D (On the flip side they announced Watch Dogs is cancelled forever so... feeling gutted about that.)

[@os_oz]

mirage is getting a sequal?

[@Jann.i]

I desperately want modern day assassins/ assassin gameplay, a fully fleshed out game

[@Not____Applicable]

I was so hype to see at some point some concrete form of a relationship between Desmond and Lucy and always hoped Desmond was gonna come back in some godly form. Ubisoft not only brought upon the contagion known as MTX to modern gaming but baited the fuck out of us who genuinely liked the story between AC - AC3. I wanted a series that stretched all the way through. I didn’t like black flag initially because it was some random mc who was going in the animus.

[@Elena-gg9ec]

The ac3 soundtrack is so so good especially Desmond’s destiny will always hit so hard for me

[@super_funny3894]

New pfp? I really like this new one tbh, 👍!

[@MDzstation567]

New pfp suits you ❤ can u make a video of ghost of tsuhima for pc

[@alishahmohammad5336]

He's back🙌🏻

[@person3405]

Bro your new profile picture is so good

[@azeroth2994]

oh new vid AND the new drip, Mentor?

[@silvertaken]

The way Ubnisoft got rid off of Desmond reminded me of how in Need for Speed you don't have a backstory anymore like in Most Wanted and Carbon. As if the devs stopped caring of a good part of what made those games even more interesting.

[@ming_grape]

oh you changed your profile love'it🙂

[@valerie2904]

I love how this video comes out the day after I replayed AC3

[@marketingthomas]

New pfp goes hard

[@LethalEditor]

DAMN BRO YOUR PFP LOOKIN FIRE

[@ramSalva]

Ngl i liked the old PFP it looked more goofy

[@robertsixx775]

Desmond is my favourite AC protag, and I actually enjoy his character a lot even in the last few games he appeared in. As it made sense to me, as he didnt ask for any of this and its obvious they were making stuff up on the fly lol. I really hate that they killed him off, especially since in the next game we follow Edward who's still related to Desmond. Its obvious that his death was kinda last minute and that they kinda regret it. I hope they revive him or hell even give us a soft or hard reboot of the franchise following Desmond and going with the OG plan for his character.

[@senku3402]

I didnt even know this was your channel cause of ur changed pfp 😅

[@00martoneniris86]

I want the old profile picture back with Ezio black rops

[@leo-fj8ew]

Your back 💖 And new profile pic

[@user-xf5zo4ui5k]

The new pfp is sick

[@_Darth_Vader_]

Imagine Thanos finally collecting all the infinity stones and that’s a wrap. Series over. Close up shop.

[@GrandmasterTemplar-yd7lh]

Love the new pfp man it's so freaking awesome

[@RGisOnline]

Nice pfp, really like it

[@drakon9958]

It was never really expanded on that desmond is literally a sage, I mean if you think about it, Altair and Ezio have the exact same face as desmond.

[@Floopydoopy4799]

Nice new pfp my man

[@johnny5805]

I always skip all cut scenes, so I had no idea Desmond was dead ! 😀

[@vodkavecz]

It was indeed really cool to play in the modern day, and actually do active missions in AC3 as Desmond. Wish we had to do an actual assassination too. The assault on Abstergo HQ at the end was really cool. But if there were a secondary modern villain, we could've kill stealthily before that, now that'd have been nice. Also Modern Assassin is one of my favourite track on the AC3 OST

[@IchBinEnte]

Are you able to do playthroughs from the first game up to Mirage

[@mr.dystopian5554]

Just as bad when they killed off Juno Not in a game, but in a comic. All set up after AC3 with zero pay off.

[@king_kb6700]

Love the new pfp

[@Thebloodguy]

Badass new pfp

[@BR78973]

The pfp goes hard

[@C_DODGER]

Nice pfp i bet it will be iconic

[@Shzy.]

Missinh old Profile Picture this is looking really vibrant

[@TV6365]

Cool pfp master👍

[@theo-amariochana6385]

gonna miss tiny ezio but the new logo goes hard !

[@pokemon-shop996]

The new pfp slaps

[@SwetlanasCozyplace]

Time to rewatch desmond scenes...

[@user-zp8kj2cl9g]

The ending of AC 3 was my first real, actual gaming disappointing LMAO

[@natka6764]

I didnt recognise your video cuz of changed pfp :0

[@ConnorWiederich-hr4zu]

I also hate that Lucy's story came to a close so quickly. It felt like the start of the decline of the modern day. Such a shame there had to be drama with Kristen Bell's pay.

[@gabrielthomas9560]

New pfp hard😎

[@drakon9958]

"Desmond is basically us in this situation" Proceeds to show exactly what we were all looking at 💀

[@karthickraja5832]

I was one of those people who immediately felt a loss in the modern game story after desmonds death, I liked black flag game mechanics, but felt disconnected with story due to desmond

[@LucasIshi]

Hey nice new pfp

[@user-zp8kj2cl9g]

Gonna miss the Facebook mom tier pfp 😢😢

[@pdxartist22]

Later games in the series have choices and dialogue options. Not saying AC3 should be like that, but it’s the one game that (at the very least) would’ve benefited from giving a choice at the end. Would’ve been interesting if the other option for Desmond was actually a proper alternate ending and not just a cutscene.

[@danieltsiou9843]

I saw the video on my fyp and thought wait there is another guy with the same channel name and then i heard the voice and was like nope he is the same 😂😂

[@itzaayla]

yoooo new pfp era

[@bradleymasters1456]

Imagine that, killing off a character becoz of their face model Ubisoft: Oh sorry desmond we have to let you go Everyone: why Ubisoft: face

[@Leafie0154]

nice pfp!

[@calvinmatthews1527]

Honestly, this title could be the cast for most of the AC franchise.

[@prettymuchanobody6562]

One thing I'd like to say, despite the fact that I really like your stuff and this video specifically, is that you mentioned you were going to spoil the early games but then at the end spoiled Valhalla out of nowhere.

[@kyle2kyletroii]

babe wake up new masterassassin logo dropped

[@snobbishbeast8146]

pfp change suits the theme of Codename red to me. At least sort of, was that the idea?

[@DBZfan41]

That new profile pic is fucking sick. Also like the video everyone! This man deserves more subs

[@thunderconcerto9807]

I once thought we will have the last ac game that we really play as desmond that became master assassin to go against modern day templar or isu after he accumulated skill from his ancestors😢

[@TheMadWhit666]

Didn't recognize the channel with the new pfp😅

[@Night-ec7ef]

I feel like his death kinda felt to me like they would never resolve the modern day part of the timeline.

[@blacklight8658]

I remember me and my friends discussing his death and believing it was "fake" because we believed him to be still alive. Something like him using a clone with the Apple or that his body is only in a paralyzed state and he'll wake up. Either way, we believed he'll be back in the next game or the game after... or the game after that... and then after that. Of course, he never showed up again. That's why I was SO hyped of the not-so subtle fact that he's back in Valhalla. I really wish we could get him and Nolan North back in the main series, maybe not as the main protagonist again, but make him an integral part of the modern day Assassins. And for the love of God, I HOPE we get to see Elijah in the games. He's "kinda" a big deal considering who and what he is, right?

[@petruthegamer9777]

What is they made Assassins Creed: Alternative Roots where Demond isn't killed and some other things to re-build the peak

[@shaikhsaadali2694]

At last he started to look like mark Zuckerberg 🤣🤣

[@jacksonandy218]

The one thing is that it wasent desmond's character, it was those around him that built desmond's character and how they viewed desmond as this test subject. Making use be more attached to desmond. I would much rather have desmond back. Desmond is much more memorable then layla. But i did actually like desmonds model in AC 3.

[@gabrielandjavierpinales3689]

Desmond Miles is the heart and soul of Assassin's Creed modern-day story. The modern-day storyline line after ac 3 had become inconsistent, meaningless, and used as a plot device. The modern day was supposed to be about lineage and learning from the past for knowledge that would help the 21st century. Desmond should have remained alive, leading the fight against Abstergo and helping the Modern Day Assassins win. Without Desmond, the modern-day storyline won't make any sense. I hope Desmond comes back and his son helps him and follows in his footsteps.

[@leonsimic1371]

Nice pfp🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@donaldoflores8374]

I literally stopped playing assassin's Creed when this happened, I am only following up to see what game should I play now that most of the assassin's creeds are on the PlayStation for download