After witnessing the blatant racial prejudice against Japanese culture and history by Western developers at Ubisoft with the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows, many are expressing outrage.
This installment juxtaposes a supposed historical figure, Yasuke, a mythical retainer to Oda Nobunaga, by fantasizing him as a makeshift samurai warrior despite no historical evidence supporting such claims. In response, the Japanese community is fighting back by launching a petition on change.org to cancel Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Previously, we touched on how Ubisoft’s upcoming release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to be their most overtly “woke” project to date. The game’s lead writer, Alissa Ralph, works at Ubisoft’s Quebec studio, which has ties to Sweet Baby Inc. Additionally, Giles Armstrong will serve as the senior writer for the game.
Giles has previously tweeted about the oversaturation of White men as the only playable characters in the games industry, also stating that cis White men are privileged when it comes to game narrative writing. We also extensively covered Ubisoft’s commitment to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), emphasizing that diversity is in their DNA.
To further support this commitment, Ubisoft has accurately represented fictional protagonists in prior Assassin’s Creed games, portraying them authentically according to the settings of each game. From featuring a half-Native American protagonist during the American Revolution to games centered in France, Greece, Norway, and even Baghdad, Ubisoft has consistently ensured their characters reflect the diverse backgrounds of their respective historical contexts.
Or at the very least, they did. Because Japan doesn’t deserve the pleasure apparently.
Ubisoft sought someone to serve as their non-Japanese perspective during one of Japan’s most iconic historical periods. This intention was made clear in an interview with Famitsu, where the exact quote was later removed after Japanese gamers noticed it.
Meanwhile, Marc-Alexis Côté, the head honcho behind the upcoming game, had an emotional crisis following a tweet by Elon Musk. Musk’s tweet criticized the game’s depiction of a Black male protagonist as a samurai during Japan’s Sengoku period, stating that “DEI kills art.” In response, Côté admitted he had to resort to medication to calm himself down.
Adding to the controversy, Ubisoft faced further embarrassment when they sent content creators and media outlets a free collector’s edition statue. The statue contained linguistic errors and inaccuracies regarding the clan crests.
This has led to a significant backlash from both Japanese players and Western gamers, with trailers for Assassin’s Creed Shadows receiving a large volume of dislikes.
Ubisoft’s decision to feature Yasuke as the main protagonist, marking the first time a supposed historical figure is playable, was a deliberate move to push their agenda. The game includes modernized ethnic tunes, mixing Japanese oriental music with trap and EDM.
They chose Yasuke as the protagonist to deflect criticism of their agenda as inherently racist. While other games, such as Samurai Warriors 5 and the Nioh franchise, also feature Yasuke, they incorporate fantastical elements like yokai and giant enemy crabs and are not based on realism.
A recent Change.org petition in Japan has gathered over 34,000 signatures, highlighting the extremity of Ubisoft’s politically driven mandate, which blatantly disrespects Japan’s culture and heritage.
The petition argues that “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” by Ubisoft lacks historical accuracy and cultural respect. It points out that the game features Japanese samurai but ignores that samurai were a higher warrior class, often serving as “gokenin” or servants of nobles.
For example, the first European to receive the title of samurai, William Adams (Miura Anjin), served Tokugawa Ieyasu as a 250 koku hatamoto. Ubisoft misunderstands the nature and role of samurai with their portrayal of Yasuke.
The petition states that this portrayal is a serious insult to Japanese culture and history and may be linked to racism against Asians. It calls on Ubisoft to immediately cancel the release of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” and to show sincere research and respect for Japanese history and culture.
Gamers worldwide have criticized Ubisoft’s upcoming release, while game journalists continue to side against the consumer, promoting a narrative that upholds systematic racism against Asian countries. These journalists claim Yasuke was “known as” a samurai without providing substantial evidence, and label those disgusted by Assassin’s Creed Shadows as racist bigots.
Previously, we saw a significant petition regarding Stellar Blade’s day-one censorship patch. The Korean game, published by the globalized Sony who are headquartered in the United States had two revealing outfits censored upon release.
After gathering over 90,000 signatures, SHIFT UP reintroduced the original outfits as additional costumes to be earned in-game rather than replacing the censored designs.
While a petition, even on valid grounds of racism won’t stop a massive corporation like Ubisoft from canceling a game they’ve invested hundreds of millions in, it sends a strong message. Japanese gamers are not overlooking Ubisoft’s actions.
Rather than focusing on the potential outcome of the petition, consider this perspective: every signature represents a person who has committed to not buying the game upon release. As the petition gains popularity, more gamers may choose to avoid purchasing the game out of principle.
Consumers are fully within their rights to choose whether to buy a product for any reason. If their reason is “I don’t want you Westerners coming in and tarnishing my country’s history,” then so be it. They have the right to oppose the portrayal of a historical non-figure as a mystical Black man who slaughters Japanese samurai. The petition, which started on June 19, is gaining more traction as the days go by.
Despite this, the usual suspects will continue to slander those who disagree with Ubisoft’s ESG motives, labeling them as inherently racist. Considering how Ubisoft wants to charge anywhere from $70 to $130 for the game and its various editions, we’ll see who wins out in the end as more gamers sign themselves up to not spending their money buying Ubisoft’s progressive wares.
