GamesActionAssassin’s Creed Shadows’Our goal is not to push any specific agenda': Ubisoft CEO tries to mollify gamers who won’t stop being mad about a Black samurai in Assassin’s Creed ShadowsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionAssassin’s Creed Shadows’Our goal is not to push any specific agenda': Ubisoft CEO tries to mollify gamers who won’t stop being mad about a Black samurai in Assassin’s Creed ShadowsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
“I want to reaffirm that we are an entertainment-first company, creating games for the broadest possible audience, and our goal is not to push any specific agenda,” Guillemot said in today’sfinancial update. “We remain committed to creating games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy.”
It’s quite a change in tone from Guillemot’s words in June, when he called out “malicious and personal online attacks” directed at Ubisoft employees at partners.
“I want to make it clear that we, at Ubisoft, condemn these hateful acts in the strongest possible terms, and I encourage the rest of the industry and players to denounce them, too,” Guillemot said at the time. “I am proud to support the amazing work of our teams and partners, and I will always trust in their creative choices.”
The most vocal contingent of Yasuke critics want nothing less than the outright removal of the character from the game, to be replaced with an “authentic” Japanese character. It’s absolutely bananas, and anyone who thinks they can make that group happy with this sort of anodyne nonsense simply needs to take a look at the responses to the delay announcement onXto be quickly dissuaded of such notions.
This isn’t Ubisoft first attempt at soothing the perennially aggrieved to poor effect. In July it issued astatementthat Assassin’s Creed Shadows is not meant to be a “factual representation of history, or historical characters,” and that “while Yasuke is depicted as a samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we acknowledge that this is a matter of debate and discussion.” As we noted at the time, the new Assassin’s Creed has faced some legitimate criticism, but the defense of Yasuke is entirely unnecessary—and worse, it served to embolden the reactionary contingent of gamers who think diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are somehow ruining games.
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I can’t speak from the perspective of a videogame executive but to my mind, that’s the approach that works. Ubisoft is never going to satisfy its worst, most bad-faith critics and it shouldn’t waste time trying: The effort would be far better spent drawing clear lines on where it stands, even if it’s on a point as simple as “racist bullshit will not be tolerated.” It’s certainly doable: Bethesda Softworks made a point ofembracing the anti-Nazi politicsin Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, saying, “This is what our game is about.”
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’
Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’
All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes
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The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April
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Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’
If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video
Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans
The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements
Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot
Palestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 Nakba
Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’
Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene
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