Assassin's Creed Shadows developer Ubisoft has responded to criticisms of its historical accuracy in a message to its Japanese players, reminding everyone that, "while we strive for authenticity in everything we do, Assassin's Creed games are works of fiction inspired by real historical events and figures."
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been through it over the past few months. It's been the centre of a heated debate over whether protagonist Yasuke really was a samurai (he was). On top of that, Ubisoft has also apologized for the unauthorized use of a flag in Shadows' concept art and has said it won't be using the particular flag design in the future.
Now, In the post below today, Ubisoft pens a message to its Japanese players, explaining the creative process behind some key decisions. "First and foremost," Shadows is designed to be an "entertaining video game," Ubisoft writes, saying none of the Assassin's Creed games have ever intended as "factual representations of history," but rather to "spark curiosity" about history.
The Assassin's Creed Shadows team has a message for our Japanese community. pic.twitter.com/AIyWNU9YhGJuly 23, 2024
Ubisoft also acknowledges that "promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community." It doesn't specify which material has caused concern, but it does write that all gameplay footage we've seen so far is a work in progress, and "will keep evolving until launch" later this year on November 15.
Finally, and perhaps most pointedly, Ubisoft addresses the backlash against Yasuke's depiction as a samurai. Whether Yasuke was, in fact, a samurai during the Sengoku era is a hotly debated topic, but over the last few weeks and months, experts on the field have stated firmly that Yasuke was a samurai, including Japanese historian Yu Hirayama on Twitter.
However, Ubisoft writes in its new message that it knows whether Yasuke was a samurai is a "matter of debate and discussion." Ubisoft further adds that because so little is known about Yasuke's life, he was an "ideal candidate" to work with Assassin's Creed's "creative license" in how it incorporates "fantasy elements" into the series.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently denounced "hateful acts" towards Shadows' developers over Yasuke, and veteran Resident Evil and Street Fighter developer Yoshiki Okamoto said the backlash to Shadows was overblown because "it's a game, it's fantasy, not reality."
