A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Art Director Thierry Dansereau recently addressed the numerous criticisms the game has faced from Elon Musk, Japanese gamers, and more regarding the developers’ creative choices specifically its decision to make Yasuke and Naoe the main characters in a game set in Feudal Japan rather than a male Japanese character.

A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

Back in June, Elon Musk reacted to the revelation that Assassin’s Creed Shadows would feature a gay Yasuke as one of the main protagonists writing, “DEI kills art.”

Assassin’s Creed Shadows boss Marc-Alexis Côté responded to this comment by admitting he was emotionally broken by Elon Musk.

He told Game File, “That tweet generated emotions, that…the first thing I wanted to do was go back on X – that I had deleted – and just tweet back. And I just took a step back. I have a mindfulness app on my phone. And I did a bit of mindfulness to try to explore the emotions that this tweet created.”

In a moment of sheer hypocrisy, he accused Elon of feeling hatred while at the same time indicating he had a bunch of hateful three-word replies he wanted to send, “For me, Elon, it’s sad, he’s just feeding hatred. I had a lot of three word replies that came to mind.”

Nevertheless, Côté continued, “By attacking someone like Elon… I will not convince people about our point of view as a team.”

Elon Musk via New York Times Events YouTube

He believes that players will be convinced of whatever his team’s point of view is (he does not provide any details on it) within the first 15 minutes of the game.

Côté said, “Yasuke is very, very grounded in the history of the franchise and how we make our choices. … We’ve got a super-mysterious historical character from which not much is known about. And for us, it was what we want in [Assassin’s Creed].”

He continued, “What Elon says is not the game that we’re building. People will have to play the game for themselves. And if, within the first 11 minutes and 47 seconds, they are not convinced of what we’re doing, we can have the discussion.”

A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

“I was reviewing the game very recently, and I was like, ‘The answer is there!’ I just hope and wish that people can keep an open mind about this and see the game for what it is,” he elaborated.

“It’s an Assassin’s Creed game, and I believe the best one we’ve ever built,” he declared.

Key art for Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

Numerous others have criticized the game as well. Japanese YouTuber Shohei Kondo called on Ubisoft to “immediately discontinue” the game and explained, “We are protesting marketing DEIs, historical distortion stemming from their disregard for Asians and their arrogance, and discriminatory responses to protest from Japan.”

In an interview with Eurogamer, Dansereau addressed these criticisms telling the outlet, “Of course we’re making creative choices. It’s a video game in the end, so we want to make the best experience as possible for our players.”

He continued, “We’ve worked with a lot of experts, to just understand well the time period. We did a lot of our own work so we’re making sure we depict this world in a respectful way, while fulfilling the gameplay needs and making it entertaining.”

“We’ve worked with Osaka and Tokyo studios [who’ve acted] as consultants, one of their art directors is involved and doing research in the field. We went there, we did a field trip as well, and we have Japanese experts living in Japan. We use them a lot to look at our assets, they play the game and provide feedback,” he added.

Key art for Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

Not only did he address this criticism, but he also addressed Ubisoft’s statement that it released to Japanese players in July. The statement began by making it clear it was addressing the Japanese community and noted it had received praise and criticism from them.

After this it stated, “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,” Ubisoft continued. “Our team extensively collaborated with external consultants, historians, researchers, and internal teams at Ubisoft Japan to inform our creative choices.”

Assassin’s Creed on X

It then stated, “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.”

It then asked players to criticize Ubisoft rather than any consultants the company worked with claiming that the consultants “are in no way responsible for the decisions that are taken by the creative teams in the interests of gameplay and entertainment.”

Assassin’s Creed on X

Ubisoft then detailed the creative liberties it was taking, “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.”

Next, it specifically addressed the idea that Yasuke was a samurai, “The representation of Yasuke in our game is an illustration of this. His unique 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,” Ubisoft added.

The company concluded, “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.”

Assassin’s Creed on X

Dansereau addressed this statement telling Eurogamer, “There was a letter published by Ubisoft apologising to that group of people in Japan. But something they need to know is we are working with experts, world-renowned experts, and if we have in any way offended [people] we are sorry but this is not the goal.”

“We’ve paid a lot of attention to stay as respectful as possible to Japanese culture, but creative choices are made on our side, based on all the discussions we had with our own group of experts. We’re confident with how the game will be received,” he added.

A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

Dansereau did admit that a number of people on his team have been affected by the criticisms of the game albeit he says he is personally unaffected.

He shared, “It’s a personal question – it’s up to everyone to see. Do you read all the stuff that’s coming out? Are you spending a lot of time on social media reading all the comments? Are you staying focused? I know some people who get affected – social media platforms are a free space where people can do what they want.”

“At the same time we’re very focused on shipping this title, on this last mile polishing the quality as much as possible. We know we have a great game in our hands. We’re proud of that and should stay proud of this game we’ve made,” he concluded.

A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

While Dansereau claims he’s confident how the game will be received, executives for the company do not appear to be projecting the same strength. When asked about the potential for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, CEO Yves Guillemot stated, “As we mentioned, we expect Shadows to be the most ambitious title of the series. We also anticipate that Star Wars, that is usually a very strong brand around Christmas, should do very well with the busy season with a strong impact also from [inaudible] content from both games. And also we expect further growth from Rainbow Six Siege as well as a strong impact of Shadows on the back catalog of Assassin’s Creed, plus the contribution of XDefiant.”

However, when asked if it would be the best selling Assassin’s Creed game, Guillemot replied, “At this time we can say we expect [Assassin’s Creed] to be among the high sellers of the company so far.”

A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

Furthermore, a rumor from Craig Skistimas aka Stuttering Craig, who owns and hosts the Side Scrollers Podcast, claims that Assassin’s Creed Shadows pre-order are not looking good.

He revealed, “My insider told me that, as of this morning at their nation wide big box chain, Assassins’ Creed Shadows has less than 800 pre-orders combined for Xbox & PS5 company wide.”

Skistimas added, “They have over 900 stores. That is less than 1 preorder per store. YIKES.”

What do you make of Dansereau’s comments regarding the criticism the game has faced as well as his comments regarding Ubisoft’s statement to Japanese players?