Shay Cormac is the former Assassin who becomes Assassin's Creed Rogue's central playable character.
Shay Patrick Cormac begins Rogue as an Assassin operating in the North Atlantic during the Seven Years' War. After rejecting decisions made by the Brotherhood, he leaves the order and joins the Templars. The game is built around this change in allegiance, presenting the conflict from a perspective that differs from the series' usual Assassin-centered viewpoint.
Rogue explores Shay's missions across the North Atlantic, the River Valley, and New York. Its story connects to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed III through characters, locations, and historical events. Haytham Kenway and Achilles Davenport are important figures, but neither is the game's principal playable character.
Shay's transition does not make him a conventional villain in every scene. Instead, the narrative presents his belief that the Assassins' actions can cause catastrophic consequences and uses that belief to examine the conflict between the two factions.