Considering yourself an investor? Ubisoft’s shares could be headed toward rock bottom in the coming months as the controversy surrounding Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ historical revisionism intensifies. Ubisoft has now announced that the game’s release will be delayed until February 14th, 2025.
Ubisoft has faced a turbulent few weeks amid backlash for its overt DEI-driven agenda, which forces racially charged cultural appropriation onto both Japan and the global gaming community.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows introduces a significant first for the franchise, allowing players to embody a real historical figure. However, the choice has sparked controversy, as the figure in question, Yasuke, a Black man in feudal Japan rumored to have been a retainer to the legendary Oda Nobunaga remains a subject of scarce and inconclusive historical documentation.
In an effort to enforce DEI protocols, Ubisoft has chosen to center its Japan-based game, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, around Yasuke, presenting him as a mythical samurai warrior, despite the lack of historical evidence supporting such a portrayal. Ubisoft could have set the game in Japan with samurais and shinobis, featuring a fictional Black protagonist.
However, this would have drawn criticism for being influenced by external factors, such as BlackRock’s ESG investment priorities. Nonetheless, the backlash for Assassin’s Creed Shadows might have been significantly less severe if Ubisoft had opted for a tokenized “representation” in the form of a fictional character, possibly as a secondary or alternative protagonist.
Instead, Ubisoft chose to focus on Yasuke, using a loosely historical figure as a vehicle to advance their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity goals, while deflecting accusations of cultural appropriation.
Gamers have been increasingly frustrated and outraged with Ubisoft since the announcement of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, with tensions escalating as the company repeatedly disrespects Japanese culture and heritage.
One notable incident involved Ubisoft using a replica sword from the manga series One Piece, passing it off as Yasuke’s sword during an immersive experience at Japan Expo this year. Additionally, Ubisoft has been accused of blatantly plagiarizing various historical artifacts of Japan for use in concept art.
Kazuma Hashimoto, an apparent alias, was revealed to have been born and raised in the West and seemingly aims to impose Western political rhetoric on Japan.
It was also discovered that Hashimoto had worked with Sweet Baby Inc. over a three-year period, contributing to various projects for companies like Square Enix and Ubisoft.
In the New York Times article, Hashimoto claimed that the outrage from the Japanese people over Assassin’s Creed Shadows was fabricated. According to Hashimoto, Westerners were allegedly using translation apps to post falsified messages of anger, pretending to be Japanese in order to manufacture artificial outrage over the game.
However, this narrative quickly unraveled. Ubisoft themselves have repeatedly issued apologies to the Japanese public, first for plagiarizing historical material for concept art, and later in an attempt to quell backlash over Yasuke’s fictionalized portrayal as a samurai, dismissing it as “a matter of debate.”
These actions directly contradicted Hashimoto’s claims, underscoring the genuine discontent surrounding the game.
Shortly after these revelations, Ubisoft appeared to escalate their controversial actions by unveiling a Qlectors figure for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, produced by PureArts.
While promotional tie-in merchandise is common in the gaming industry, this particular figure sparked outrage in Japan. It featured a “one-legged Torii” gate, a deeply disrespectful symbol, especially in a product supposedly meant to authentically represent Japanese culture and promote the game.
The inclusion of a one-legged Torii gate, rather than being seen as an innocent artistic choice, was interpreted by Japanese netizens as a painful reminder of Japan’s history during World War II, further inflaming tensions and adding to the perception that Ubisoft was insensitive to Japanese heritage.
A traditional Torii gate, typically consisting of two vertical pillars and two horizontal crossbeams, symbolizes respect and marks the transition from the ordinary world to the sacred, preparing visitors for worship at a shrine.
This design holds deep cultural and spiritual significance in Japan. A “one-legged Torii,” however, is a painful reminder of the atomic bombings during World War II.
The only surviving example of such a gate stands at Sanno Shrine in Nagasaki, located around 800 meters away from where the bomb dropped, it was partially destroyed in the bombing.
By featuring a one-legged Torii in its promotional figure, Ubisoft unknowingly evoked a symbol of tragedy, further offending the Japanese community.
Needless to say, the Japanese were not pleased. This controversy emerged just before Ubisoft was scheduled for an online presentation at this year’s Tokyo Game Show and press coverage for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Both events were abruptly canceled by Ubisoft at the last minute, likely due to the backlash and the inevitable criticism from the Japanese public. This came despite The New York Times and their Sweet Baby Inc. consultant insisting that the outrage was fabricated by Westerners masquerading as Japanese, falsely creating resentment toward the game.
The writing is on the wall for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Even the Japanese are beginning to notice the cultural intrusion Ubisoft is attempting, as the company desperately pushes its “historical” Black power narratives set in 1600s Japan. With official merchandise riddled with historical inaccuracies, linguistic mistakes, and offensive symbolism, the game seems dead on arrival. So, what does Ubisoft decide to do?
Of course, the game has been delayed. Originally set to release on November 15, 2024, it has now been pushed back to February 14, 2025. Ubisoft’s primary justification for this last-minute delay, just months before the original launch date, is their desire to provide a “rich experience” by “polishing” and “refining” the game.
In addition, all pre-orders will be refunded, and any future pre-orders will include free access to additional DLC. Notably, the game will also launch on PC via Steam, a strategy likely influenced by the disappointing performance of Star Wars Outlaws, which was tied exclusively to the Epic Game Store and Ubisoft’s own unsuccessful Ubisoft Connect platform.
While launching on Steam may boost PC sales somewhat, it remains to be seen how significant that impact will be, especially given the current challenges facing the game.
Ubisoft’s CEO, Yves Guillemot, sought to quell concerns about his company’s “woke” agenda that supposedly doesn’t exist, despite openly excluding male applicants from their mentorship program.
He emphasized that Ubisoft is dedicated to “creating games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy.” This phrase, however, is often seen as a typical buzzword employed by progressives to impose their politicized ideology on consumers.
There seems to be an unwavering insistence on making video games, and media in general “diverse” and “inclusive” of all genders, sexualities, and races. This approach frequently manifests as tokenized representation that feels both insincere and forced.
Ubisoft has long maintained a commitment to making their games inclusive “for everyone to enjoy,” a stance that often results in the creation of unlikable characters of color. Many characters in Ubisoft titles seem to be intentionally designed to appear butch, masculine, and unattractive.
This push for diversity and equality appears less about genuinely representing “marginalized” people in gaming and more about dismantling the industry from within, erasing traditional norms.
In modern game design, featuring attractive women of color is often discouraged because it doesn’t align with the principles of ESG. If you, as a Black game developer, dare to question why liberal activists transform your ideas for appealing characters of color into “grocery store grannies,” you risk losing your job and becoming blacklisted from the industry, much like Del Walker.
While Ubisoft claims that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is feature-complete, they intend to draw from the lessons learned during the development of Star Wars Outlaws to take additional time for polishing the game and adjusting its release model.
Compared to the original release plans seen above, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will no longer feature a Season Pass; instead, all players will have access to it on February 14th, and those who pre-order will receive the first expansion for free, highlighting just how desperate Ubisoft are to shift the game.
Interestingly, the choice to launch in February seems strategically timed. This month is often when corporations engage in performative allyship, showcasing their support for Black History Month by promoting diversity initiatives and catering to the interests of marginalized communities.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is destined to flop financially, and the reasons are clear: Ubisoft’s racially motivated choice of a Black protagonist and its cultural disrespect toward Japan are direct factors in its anticipated failure.
As February coincides with Black History Month, we can expect journalists and activists on Twitter to fervently promote and defend Assassin’s Creed Shadows simply because it features a person of color as the central protagonist. Any criticism aimed at the game will likely be dismissed as racist rhetoric, further complicating any genuine discourse surrounding its issues.
It’s a striking internal decision for Ubisoft to use Black History Month as a shield for what is likely to be a catastrophic failure. The game’s racially insensitive portrayal of a fictionalized Black samurai warrior, based on a purported historical figure with little evidence to support such narratives, underscores this impending disaster.
Coincidentally, February 14th also positions itself nicely against the backdrop of Capcom’s upcoming release, Monster Hunter Wilds. Despite being criticized for its regressive approach that emphasizes inclusivity through DEI agendas, such as the removal of gender-specific terminology and the addition of unisex armor, Monster Hunter Wilds is poised to be a significant success for Capcom regardless.
Following the franchise’s newfound queer audience with Monster Hunter World, which sold over 20 million copies after its 2018 release, Monster Hunter Wilds wont only overshadow Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but outright crush it despite releasing just two weeks later on February 28th. Many gamers will choose to skip Ubisoft’s title in favor of Capcom’s offering.
