Olivia Richman 
Days after apologizing for using a “stolen” flag design for Assassin’s Creed Shadows artwork, Ubisoft is getting blasted on social media for allegedly doing something similar with One Piece merch.
Fans are accusing Ubisoft of using a replica sword based on One Piece’s Roronoa Zoro in a booth at a French anime convention. The company posted a sneak peek of its booth at the Japan Expo, which included a zoomed-in photo of a katana on a stand. The full katana cannot be seen, but what’s included bears a resemblance to one of Roronoa Zoro’s swords.
One of Zoro’s swords is often shown as having a red sheath with either perpendicular grooves or black stripes running down it. Replica versions of these swords have been sold as both merchandise for the show and as accessories for cosplay for years. Naysayers latched onto the resemblance as evidence of either Ubisoft lifting the design or using a piece of storebought anime merchandise in its promotion of what is one of its biggest releases of 2024. Is this true, though?
Did Assassin’s Creed Shadows actually rip off One Piece?
It is not clear whether the sword being used to promote Assassin’s Creed Shadows is related to One Piece in any way.
Zoro’s red-sheathed katana bears a resemblance to real-life weapons from around the era when Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set. The telltale sign of a One Piece copy would be a cross-alisee-shaped guard, but the guard is not in-frame on any photos of Ubisoft’s booth.
Because of that, it’s impossible to tell from the photo whether Ubisoft copied One Piece with this. The controversial Assassin’s Creed Shadows sword may be an era-appropriate original design by Ubisoft, an homage to One Piece, or an off-the-shelf accessory for Roronoa Zoro cosplayers.
Ubisoft apologizes for copying flag design in Assassin’s Creed Shadows concept art from war reenactors
In a separate incident, Ubisoft apologized for a flag spotted in Assassin’s Creed Shadows concept art that was actually an existing flag used by the Sekigahara Teppo-Tai. The Sekigahara Teppo-Tai is a war reenactment group from Japan.
Ubisoft Japan released a statement on the matter, acknowledging it used the flag in two pieces of concept art. The company apologized for using it and added that it already apologized directly to the Sekigahara Teppo-Tai as well. Ubisoft stated that removing the flag from all its media would be tough as this includes an already-printed art book. Still, Ubisoft said that it will no longer be used going forward.
