Why is Assassin's Creed Shadows so controversial? Ubisoft apologises for game set in feudal Japan

An Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan may be mana for fans of the stealth-action series, but it has become a nightmare for developer Ubisoft .

The French gaming giant is battling to repair the damage after accusations of historical inaccuracy and cultural insensitivity engulfed the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows .

This being the internet, however, some of the claims are overblown (and on the toxic side).

What is the controversy around Shadows?

Shadows has mainly come under fire from gaming-chair conspiracy theorists who think developers are teaming up with “woke” consultants to make games more progressive (perish the thought!).

While those claims have been debunked by the game makers themselves, the furore refuses to die down on places like X which (let’s face it) is a haven for dubious opinion-havers, to put it politely.

Some of the game’s most vocal critics claim Shadows is part of this hidden agenda because its protagonist, a Black man named Yasuke, was never a samurai in real life. The only problem is, he actually was, according to plenty of historians, including Japan’s very own Yu Hirayama.

Historians claim Yasuke was an African man who lived in Japan during the 16th century, and gained fame as a samurai in the service of the powerful feudal lord Oda Nobunaga. While details about his life are scarce, historical records, primarily from Jesuit missionaries, confirm his existence.

Ironically, the game’s other playable character (a female named Naoe) is, in fact, completely fictional and not based on a real ninja – but no one seems as miffed about that.

Just so we’re clear, all of this drama is over a game no one has actually played yet.

What has Ubisoft said?

In a bid to quell the controversy, Ubisoft has released a statement, outlining the creative process behind some of the game’s most contested elements.

Defending its portrayal of Yasuke, Ubisoft states that the character's historical ambiguity offered an opportunity to blend fact and fiction (a hallmark of the Assassin's Creed franchise).

It also maintains that Shadows is primarily designed as entertainment, not a history textbook, explaining that the series has always taken creative liberties with historical events to “spark curiosity” in the past.

Anyone who has played an Assassin’s Creed game in the past 20 years could tell you that. After all, we’re talking about a franchise that had Leonardo Da Vinci making a tank for players in 2010’s Brotherhood.

In a nod to the theories floating around about “nefarious” outside influences on games, Ubisoft says that, while it has been consulting with others as part of its research, they have no control over the creative process.

Some of the broader concerns around historical accuracy in Shadows have been echoed in Japan, which may explain why the note is addressed to the game’s “Japanese community”.

Ubisoft was previously forced to apologise for its unauthorised use of a flag in its concept art that belonged to a Japanese historical re-enactment group. At the time, it promised to no longer distribute the art, apart from its inclusion in the official 84-page art book bundled with the pricey collector's edition of the game.

Now, Ubisoft is saying sorry for a second time. “Despite these sustained efforts,” the statement reads, “we acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern with the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologize.”

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