Highlights

• Games sometimes surprise players by switching protagonists mid-game, offering new perspectives and experiences during the story.
• From Bayek in Assassin's Creed Origins to Roach in Call of Duty, characters may be replaced or take a back seat for various plot reasons.
• Whether to show a different side of the narrative or lead to the original protagonist's demise, developers use this technique for impactful storytelling.

Most video games contain a singular protagonist who you control throughout the entire adventure. Yet, some developers mix things up by including multiple characters that you switch between during the story. It isn't surprising to see either of these two things happen.

What does provide a shock, though, is when you're playing through the game as a character, and they suddenly get replaced as the protagonist. They may die or simply retreat back into a secondary role. The main thing is that a new protagonist has emerged to take their spot. Developers typically do this for story reasons, such as they want you to see a different side of the narrative or they believe the original protagonist needs to perish. Whatever the reason, it happens in the following games.

Updated February 28, 2024 By Ben Jessey: It's always notable when a game switches its protagonist partway through. So, we created a list based on that concept. It was a while ago, though. Therefore, we've returned to the piece to update the formatting and add a few more games to the collection.

9 Assassin's Creed Origins

Assassin’s Creed Origins is set in Ancient Egypt and focuses on the adventures of a Medjay called Bayek. Throughout the game, he attempts to get revenge on those who killed his son. So, as him, you spend much of the story hunting down and killing the culprits.

Towards the end of the game, though, he discovers a few more people involved. But, this time, he doesn’t have to hunt alone. His wife, Aya, is back in the picture, and she also desires revenge. So, for the last main mission, you control her as you sail to Rome and finish off the remaining people involved in their son’s death.

8 Gears 5

Initially, Gears 5 follows on from Gears of War 4 by putting you in the shoes of COG soldier JD Fenix. He's a bright-eyed and confident young man until the closing stages of Act One. At this point, JD is involved in an incident with the powerful sky laser known as the Hammer of Dawn, which kills some of his allies.

He survives the incident, but it leaves some physical and mental scars. These transform him into a more cynical and less likable person. It also turns him into a secondary character, as the focus shifts to fellow soldier Kate Diaz for the rest of the game, as the story dives into her family history.

7 L.A. Noire

You play most of L.A. Noire as Cole Phelps, where you experience his rise up the ranks of the L.A.P.D in 1947. That is until he cheats on his wife, which becomes public knowledge and leads to his demotion to the arson desk. While looking into arson cases involving house fires, he discovers a deep conspiracy.

However, he gets blocked from pursuing it because the police are involved in the said conspiracy. Thus, he has his old acquaintance and current claims investigator, Jack Kelso, look into it instead. So, you play as Kelso for the rest of the game.

6 Assassin's Creed 3

For the first several hours of Assassin's Creed 3, you play as Haytham Kenway. Since he has a hidden blade, sneaks around, and performs assassinations, the assumption is that he's an Assassin.

Yet, to every player's shock, he actually turns out to be a Templar. If you're not aware of the lore, Templars are the bitter rivals of Assassins and are typically evil. After finding that out, you switch to the perspective of the true main character, Haytham's son, Connor. And you play the rest of the adventure as one of the most powerful Assassins in the series.

5 Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea

Burial At Sea is an expansion to Bioshock Infinite, and it sees the two protagonists, Booker and Elizabeth, visit the underwater metropolis known as Rapture. Their adventure is split into two episodes. In the first, you control Booker. However, by the end of the episode, he begins to remember who he used to be.

It turns out he was a horrible person. More specifically, he was the evil Zachary Comstock, who you will know about if you played the base game - albeit this is a different version of the character. Not long after discovering his past indiscretions, he dies, and Elizabeth becomes the protagonist of episode two.

4 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

You play as a few different characters during the campaign of 2009's Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2. For most of the game, you switch between three soldiers: Joseph Allen, James Ramirez, and Roach.

Roach is certainly the main one of the three until he is betrayed and killed in the third act. When this happens, the protagonist from Call Of Duty 4, Soap MacTavish, becomes the new playable character. You control him for the rest of the game as he tries to avenge his friend.

3 WWE '12

Most WWE games have a story mode of some sort, and they have featured some strange storylines over the years. The tale in WWE '12 isn't very weird, but it's unique. Instead of picking a wrestler and playing through a story like in most entries in the series, the game contains one long narrative split into three arcs.

Each arc contains a different protagonist. The villain arc features Sheamus, the outsider arc stars Triple H, and the protagonist of the hero arc is a created wrestler called Jacob Cass.

2 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty

The switch of protagonists in Metal Gear Solid 2 is one of the most infamous. For the opening Tanker chapter of the game, you play as usual Metal Gear protagonist, Solid Snake. Then, when the large military tanker sinks with Snake still inside, the game moves two years into the future. This serves as the start of the Plant chapter, which places the new character, Raiden, into the lead role.

Snake remains involved during the Plant chapter as a secondary character, but that didn't stop Metal Gear fans from being annoyed with the surprising change. After all, MGS2 Raiden isn't nearly as compelling as Snake.

1 Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 serves as a prequel to the original title. In it, you control likable outlaw Arthur Morgan, who's running with the Van Der Linde gang. Yet, things eventually go wrong for pretty much every member. Several of them die, while most of the rest fall out.

Before everything falls apart, Arthur contracts Tuberculosis. And as this is set in the Wild West era, there is no cure. So, in the end, he succumbs to his illness and passes away. But that isn't really the end, as there is an incredibly long two-part epilogue after his death. Through these chapters, you play as Arthur's friend and protagonist from the first game, John Marston.