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Ubisoft has released an official statement addressing concerns about Assassin's Creed Shadows, and it's Japanese setting. 

Since the announcement of the game, Shadows has been drawing in quite a bit of criticism concerning it's main characters, and how they are portrayed within the game.

Here's the official statement:

Assassin's Creed Shadows - An Update for the Japanese Community

To our esteemed Japanese community---a message from the Assassin's Creed Shadows development team.

First, we want to express our heartfelt thanks for all your support for the Assassin's Creed series which now has its own history spanning almost 20 years. Over this time, we have explored various settings, time periods, and characters, from an Assassin during the Third Crusade to a Viking in 9th century England, and countless more.

For many of our team, creating an Assassin's Creed game set in Feudal Japan has been a long-cherished dream.

Since the announcement of Assassin's Creed Shadows, we have received many positive reactions, but also some criticism including from you, our Japanese players. We share your passion for history and deeply respect your care for the historical and cultural integrity of your rich heritage. We would like to address a few points to clarify our intentions and creative decisions:

Overall Authenticity efforts:

We have put significant effort into ensuring an immersive and respectful representation of Feudal Japan. However, our intention has never been to present any of our Assassin's Creed games, including Assassin's Creed Shadows, 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 settings we get inspired by.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is first and foremost, designed to be an entertaining video game that tells a compelling, historical fiction set in Feudal Japan.

Our team extensively collaborated with external consultants, historians, researchers, and internal teams at Ubisoft Japan to inform our creative choices. Despite these sustained efforts, we acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologize. All game footage presented so far is in development and the game will keep evolving until launch. Based on the constructive criticism we have received, we will continue our efforts until we put this game into your hands - and beyond.

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 interests of gameplay and entertainment. Consequently, we respectfully request that any criticism not be directed at our collaborators, both internal and external.

Creative Liberties and Historical Inspirations: While we strive for authenticity in everything that we do, Assassin's Creed games are works of fiction inspired by real historical events and figures. From its inception, the series has taken creative license and incorporated fantasy elements to craft engaging and immersive experiences. The representation of Yasuke in our game is an illustration of this.Hisunique and mysterious life made him an ideal candidate to tell an Assassin's Creed story with the setting of Feudal Japan as a backdrop. 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 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.

We greatly value your feedback and encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts, respectfully. While we understand that meeting everyone's expectations is very difficult, we sincerely hope that when Assassin's Creed Shadows launches on November 15, players in Japan and around the world will appreciate the dedication, effort, and passion we have poured into it.

The Assassin's Creed Shadows Development Team

 

The original article can be read here.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is set for release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on November 15th, 2024.

For more information, feel free to check out our previous articles covering the announcement.