“We are all exhausted”: The Assassin’s Creed community is turning on itself and Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows had an incredibly controversial launch smeared by claims of forced DEI, cultural disrespect, and historical inaccuracy. Just a few weeks ago, Ubisoft released a statement apologising for any insensitivity, while also reinforcing its plan to continue forward with the game. This coincided with the apparent investigation of the situation by the Japanese government, and the communities own response too. Sentiments are now of exhaustion, frustration, and general anger towards both Ubisoft and those who oppose it.

“There is no ‘debate’,” say the Assassin’s Creed subreddit moderators. “Yasuke was a Samurai. If you disagree, you can do that somewhere else,” representatives say. “We are all exhausted of this tedious discussion that has been endlessly talked to death, not to mention exacerbated by a recent official statement from Ubisoft.”

Creative Liberties and Historical Inspirations: While we strive for authenticity in everything that we do, Assassin’s Creed games are works of fiction inspired by real historical events and figures. From its inception, the series has taken creative license and incorporated fantasy elements to craft engaging and immersive experiences. The representation of Yasuke in our game is an illustration of this. His unique and mysterious life made him an ideal candidate to tell an Assassin’s Creed story with the setting of Feudal Japan as a backdrop. While Yasuke is depicted as a samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we acknowledge that this is a matter of debate and discussion. We have woven this carefully into our narrative and with our other lead character, the Japanese shinobi Naoe, who is equally important in the game, our dual protagonists provide players with different gameplay styles.

Ubisoft

The AC moderators go on to reinforce a similar sentiment; Assassin’s Creed has always been a historical fiction. “While all of our player protagonists have been fictional to date, the introduction of Yasuke has given some people the false impression that the above rule does not apply. It still does. Yasuke, who is a samurai as confirmed by multiple reputable historians around the world including from Japan, may not have held as large as a role in the real world as he does in Shadows. This is okay. It is a video game.”

They continue to say that any further discussion disputing Yasuke’s status or a Samurai, or questioning his presence in the game all-together, will be met with instant bans from the community. This has, of course, caused a stir. Comments showing support for the move have been downvoted to hell: “All the racists brigading, what a surprise” writes one, while another says that “the ‘conversation’ was never in good faith.”

The post has since been locked due to “brigading”, likely in response to swathes of negative comments targetting Yasuke’s presence in the game. The debate doesn’t just end in the subreddit, though. The sect of Twitter gamers ‘campaigning’ against DEI have been stoking the conversation ever since it began. Here’s a populist grifter drumming up a narrative that “Ubisoft is completely locked down with DEO and is the most oppressive studio to work at, as DEI is everywhere.”

Further tweets in response to Ubisoft’s statement have surfaced too, full of vitriol and hate-spewing. One points aim at Ubisoft’s development team, framed next to a headline from an anti-DEI publication stating that Ubisoft has hired queer activists to support development of AC: Shadows.

The Assassin’s Creed community is clearly divided. There are those who understand that video games are fictional, a work of art, and a tool for creative expression. Then, there are others who don’t even care about the game itself, but instead about the divisive rhetoric they can drum up popularity with. I agree, it’s just exhausting.