Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has caused a huge uproar in Japan due to creative licensing and historical inaccuracies.
The game focuses on a highly exaggerated portrayal of Yasuke, an alleged black samurai from the mid-1500s. Ubisoft has transformed a vague tale of a Japanese “black slave” into a fearless, heroic samurai.
As expected, Japanese gamers were not too keen on a game themed around diversity, equity, and inclusion being set in feudal Japan.
The game caused a great stir, with Japanese political advisers commenting, letter They have also been sent to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Assassin’s Creed games are works of fiction inspired by real historical events and figures.”
a Plea A petition calling for the game’s “lack of historical accuracy and cultural respect” is approaching 100,000 signatures.
“The game is based on Japanese samurai, but ignores the fact that samurai were upper class,” the petition continues. “Ubisoft continues to misunderstand the nature and role of samurai. This is a grave insult to Japanese culture and history and could lead to racism in Asia. We call on Ubisoft to immediately halt its release.”
Ubisoft initially determined that the complaints were hateful and racist in nature, with CEO Yves Guillemot saying: June 2024.
“Ubisoft wants to make it clear that we condemn these hateful acts in the strongest possible terms,” Guillemot said, according to Game Developer , “and we call on other companies in the industry and players to also condemn them.”
As a YouTuber Shohei Kondo The game’s creative director, Jonathan Dumont, originally said the idea for a black samurai character came from “looking for a character who could be seen as a samurai who wasn’t Japanese.”
Ubisoft’s response
As the backlash grew, Ubisoft finally released a lengthy statement. Blog Post July 23, 2024.
After issuing a brief apology and acknowledging the importance of Japanese history, the company essentially excused its ignorance as artistic freedom, but reserved the right to use Japanese historical context as it sees fit.
“We have put a lot of effort into creating an immersive and respectful representation of feudal Japan. However, our intention has not been to present Assassin’s Creed games, including Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, as factual representations of history or historical figures. Instead, we aim to spark curiosity and encourage players to explore and learn more about the historical settings that inspired us.”
The studio added that the game is “designed to be an enjoyable video game that tells a fascinating historical novel set in feudal Japan.”
Ubisoft claims that the game is a work of fiction “inspired” by real events, and therefore constitutes cultural appropriation.
“While we strive for authenticity in everything we do, Assassin’s Creed games are works of fiction inspired by real historical events and people. From the beginning, the series has taken creative liberties and incorporated fantasy elements to create compelling, immersive experiences.”
The studio has essentially admitted that Yasuke’s story as depicted in the game is fictional.
“The portrayal of Yasuke in our game illustrates this well. … In Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Yasuke is portrayed as a samurai, but we recognize that this is a controversial issue.”
This has always been the case, despite Ubisoft’s attempts to push the game forward without complaint.
The few surviving historical documents from the time suggest that Yasuke may have been a soldier or apprentice, fighting one-armed, but there is no mention of him as a samurai. They say the African was seen as a spectacle, and locals who had never seen a black person before paid to watch him.
Yasuke is also said to have had his life spared after being called an “animal.” [who] do not know anything.”
“He is not Japanese, so don’t kill him,” one translation read.
Ubisoft has designated 2024 as the year of DEI-packed games, making them one of the most criticized studios (if not the most criticized studio).
One company executive urged gamers to embrace the subscription model and get used to not owning games. Meanwhile, subsidiary Massive Entertainment dove headfirst into DEI with Star Wars Outlaws. The game featured an masculine female protagonist, and the studio actively promoted “trans rights” and pride on its website and social media.
It’s worth noting that Assassin’s Creed: Shadows also features a female protagonist.
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