Which protagonist does the player control in Assassin's Creed Origins?

The protagonist of Assassin's Creed Origins is Bayek of Siwa.

Bayek is a Medjay from the Siwa Oasis in Ptolemaic Egypt. The 2017 game follows his investigation into a conspiracy that threatens Egypt and the personal events that lead him and Aya toward founding the Hidden Ones, the organization that later develops into the Assassin Brotherhood.

Origins is set in the first century BCE, during the reign of Cleopatra and the political conflict involving Ptolemy XIII and Julius Caesar. Its Egyptian setting includes Alexandria, Memphis, Cyrene, and desert regions. Bayek's eagle Senu helps him scout locations and mark targets.

The title “Origins” refers to the beginning of the Assassin tradition rather than to the franchise's first release. The series' first game came out in 2007, whereas Origins was released a decade later. Bayek is also distinct from Aya, who is his partner and an important playable character in selected sequences.