Ubisoft publishes letter to ‘Japanese community’ ‘concerned’ by Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Ubisoft has published a letter to the “Japanese community” to address what it calls “concern” around “some elements in our promotional materials” for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

In a lengthy statement published on social media, the publisher acknowledged online discourse around Yasuke, one of the upcoming game’s protagonists, who is an African Samurai.

Yasuke, one of two playable characters in the game, is based on a real historical figure, who was an African man who served the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga in 1581.

However, the character has been the subject of some criticism on social media, amplified by the likes of Elon Musk, who wrote about the game’s supposed “injection of DEI” (diversity, equity and inclusion).

In its statement, Ubisoft stresses that the Assassin’s Creed franchise has always strived to be inspired by history rather than faithfully depicting it.

“Since the announcement of Assassin’s Creecd Shadows, we have received many positive reactions, but also some criticism, including from you, our Japanese players,” it says. “We share your passion for history and deeply respect your care for the historical and cultural integrity of your rich heritage.

“Our intention has never been to present any of our Assassin’s Creed games, including Assassin’s Creed Shadowws, as factual representations of history, or historical characters. Instead, we aim to spark curiosity and encourage players to explore and learn more about the historical setting we get inspired by.”

Several previous Assassin’s Creed titles have featured real historical figures, such as Leonardo DaVinci, who appears in Assassin’s Creed 2.

Addressing the online criticism, the statement continues: “We acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologize.

“We also want to clarify that while we have been consulting with many people throughout the development process, they are in no way responsible for the decisions that are taken by the creative teams in the interest of gameplay and entertainment.”

On Yasuke, Ubisoft says his “unique and mysterious life” made him an ideal candidate to tell an Assassin’s Creed story with the setting of Feudal Japan.

“While Yasuke is depicted as a samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we acknowledge that this is a matter of debate and discussion,” it says. “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.”

Further reading

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Speaking to journalist Stephen Totilo’s Game File this month, Assassin’s Creed series vice president executive producer Marc-Alexis Côté was asked about the tweet Musk posted on X regarding Yasuke, which said, “DEI kills art.”

Côté replied that he had seen the tweet and was tempted to respond to Musk, but ultimately chose not to.

“That tweet generated emotions, that… the first thing I wanted to do was go back on X – that I had deleted – and just tweet back,” he explained.

“And I just took a step back. I have a mindfulness app on my phone. And I did a bit of mindfulness to try to explore the emotions that this tweet created. For me, Elon, it’s sad, he’s just feeding hatred. I had a lot of three word replies that came to mind.”

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is released on November 15 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Mac and Amazon Luna.