Khizar Mundia 
Ubisoft has issued an apology on X to Japanese fans after sustained controversy in the marketing of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and discussed its decision to have Yasuke as a lead character.
Assassin’s Creed is a highly successful franchise and fans have wanted an entry set in Japan for a long time since its inception. The desire increased after the release of Ghost of Tsushima, a breakout hit for Sony that was frequently compared to Assassin’s Creed. However, controversy has surrounded Assassin’s Creed Shadows since its first trailer was released.
Some of these are self-inflicted misfires, like seemingly using a replica sword based on One Piece’s Roronoa Zoro at an Assassin’s Creed booth at a French anime convention. Some of it has been racist trolling over the game having a black main character. The publisher touched upon these subjects in a lengthy statement on X.
Ubisoft finally acknowledged controversy surrounding Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Yasuke
Ubisoft took a largely neutral stance regarding the criticism of its use of real-life historical figure Yasuke
When Shadows was announced, Assassin’s Creed fans were expecting a ninja main character. Instead, the game will have two characters sharing that duty; the samurai Yasuke and the shinobi Naoe.
The main character Yasuke is based on a real-life historical figure. This reveal sparked greater interest in who they were and what’s known about them. In turn, some questioned how Yasuke could have become a samurai.
Japanese historians have stated that Yasuke was a samurai or could have been a samurai. Multiple historians have said that records regarding Yasuke give him similar credentials to other figures regarded as samurai. Alongside this, Japanese portrayals of Yasuke in anime and video games often depict him as a samurai.
However, there are limited historical records available, and there aren’t exact qualifications for samurai in that era. Ubisoft waffled on the controversy of Yasuke’s main character status in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
“While Yasuke is depicted as a samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we acknowledge that this is a matter of debate and discussion. We have woven this carefully into our narrative…our dual protagonists provide players with different gameplay styles,” Ubisoft said.
Ubisoft alludes to controversies regarding historical inaccuracies in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Ubisoft issued a statement apologizing to Japanese fans regarding historical inaccuracies in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The publisher is not explicit regarding what these controversies are.
“We have put significant effort into ensuring immersive and respectful representation of feudal Japan…Despite these sustained efforts, we acknowledge some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologize,” the statement says.
Concept art for the game was criticized for including filtered stock photography and the flag of the Sekigahara Teppo-Tai. The Sekigahara Teppo-Tai is a war reenactment group that operates today. The company might also be referring to trailers including buildings with Chinese architecture, though it noted that the “game will keep evolving until launch.”
The statement also mentions that the company collaborated with numerous “external consultants, historians, researchers, and internal teams at Ubisoft Japan.” It asked fans not to harass or criticize those who contributed to the game.
