Soon after creating a character at the beginning of Xenoblade Chronicles X, players will be tasked with giving that character a name. While players are free to choose any name that they like, some may wonder if there is a canonical option that they should pursue. This guide is here to address that topic, and it contains information about the names that are considered to be the “most official” for Xenoblade Chronicles X‘s player character.
While it may not be completely accurate to describe the player character as the game’s central protagonist or “main character,” this guide will do so for the sake of simplicity.
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Xenoblade Chronicles X: What is the Protagonist’s Canon Name?
Cross
While there is no canonical name for Xenoblade Chronicles X‘s player character, Cross is how the community usually refers to them. This name does not only come from the game’s Japanese title, which translates to Xenoblade Cross, though, as it has appeared twice in promotional material.
The first time that the name Cross was connected to the game’s protagonist was during a Nintendo Direct in November 2014, which preceded Xenoblade Chronicles X‘s original release on the Wii U. Indeed, there was a moment during this presentation where the game’s interface revealed that the player character had been given the name クロス, “cross” in Japanese.
The second instance occurred with the release of a Japanese trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Once again, the interface in this trailer showed that the protagonist had been named クロス, giving the community yet another reason to consider Cross to be the most-official name for the player character.
Ryan
While players might be hard-pressed to find many instances of the community referring to the player character as Ryan, that name does appear in a piece of promotional material, and it is thus being mentioned here. That promotional material is the English version of the Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition trailer that was just mentioned, and, indeed, players who look at the interface that appears in that trailer will see that the name Ryan has been used.
Naming the Player Character in Xenoblade Chronicles X
Players need not feel beholden to naming the protagonist Cross (or Ryan), unless they find that doing so helps them engage in community discussion. Similarly, players need not stick to creating a male character just because the aforementioned promotional material does so. Ultimately, players should pursue the options that they find most appealing, as they will spend many hours with the player character as they work to beat Xenoblade Chronicles X.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen // Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo