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

A massive alleged plot leak claims to reveal what Ubisoft originally had planned for Assassin’s Creed Shadows before it ditched it in order to push the DEI agenda with Yasuke and Naoe.

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

This plot leak comes from YouTuber Endymion, who previously revealed that a number of sources informed him that Assassin’s Creed Shadows featured a male Japanese protagonist.

In that rumor, Endymion noted, “I was also told when they originally saw the game there was indeed a male Japanese protagonist with their own finalized art and even animations.”

“They don’t know if this character will be reintroduced to replace Yasuke, but they are skeptical that Ubisoft will actually remove Yasuke altogether due to the whole political, you know, backlash they’ll get from journalists and so on,” he added.



He later shared that this male Japanese character was sidelined during the game’s development in 2020, ““The game did first include a male Japanese main character, but they were swapped sometime during 2020, according to my source, for Yasuke instead.”

When asked why Ubisoft chose Yasuke over this male Japanese character, Endymion revealed, “They said that Ubisoft was heavily influenced by the sociopolitical events of the time with stuff like — and no, I’m not kidding — George Floyd dying, the riots, and Black Lives Matter exploding in support.”

He added, “Ubisoft may have opted to include Yasuke in order to pander to identity politics because of Black Lives Matter.”

Furthermore, he shared that his source informed him that Ubisoft “was horrified by the response to Yasuke from the fandom and they actually thought including him would be a really big selling point for the game. They apparently believed by inserting Yasuke that they could garner and pander to the modern audience.”

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

This rumor was seemingly denied by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson. Henderson addressed the rumor after X user TheFocused1_com wrote, “Originally Yasuke was a japanese man. Then 2020 George Floyd riots happened and UBISOFT decided to change the main character to a black man. Alot of insiders have come forward.”

Henderson replied, “Not true.”

Tom Henderson on X

READ: Rumor: ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Originally Featured Male Japanese Main Character And Game Could Be Delayed Even Further

Now, Endymion has new details regarding what he alleges is the original version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows that did not feature Yasuke nor Naoe, but rather a Shinto monk named Taka Yamauchi.

He shared, “I was contacted by someone who worked on the original version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and they laid out to me what the story was before it was eventually scrapped by Ubisoft for the Yasuke story.”

“Originally, the plot of Shadows was supposed to surround a piece of Eden like other games called The Sword of Eden. It was an Isu artifact like the Apple or the Staff in Odyssey. But this sword would corrupt its wielders with power and then give them dominion over others,” he relayed.

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

“The hero of the story was named Taka Yamauchi, who was a Shinto monk,” Endymion revealed. “Taka was decided to be a follower of Shintoism because it was a unique religion within Japan at the time, which would give Taka an interesting viewpoint of the world around him. This was chosen because the writers on Shadows wanted to give the audience a glimpse into a world that was foreign to many. And it was juxtaposed against the idea that this Shinto monk wanted nothing to do with conflict or the wars that were being engulfed by nobles. So pretty much the hero was a badass nice guy who wanted to garden all day and meditate.”

“But, of course, like any good badass would the danger finds them eventually. Apparently, the story would have switched into high gear when Oda Nobunaga was killed,” he said.

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

Next, Endymion detailed, “Taka Yamauchi, our hero would be in a nearby temple when the fall of Oda Nobunaga happens. A fugitive would then come to Taka’s temple from that said battle and would reveal himself to be Hattori Hanzo, who, if you don’t know, he was one of the legendary ninjas of that same time period in real. He was an actual person that was instrumental to the legend that we know today of Japanese Shinobi.”

“Hattori Hanzo would be wounded upon meeting Taka and would reveal that he had but one possession in his car, which would be revealed as the Sword of Eden taken from the hands of Oda Nobunaga after his death by Akechi Mitsuhide and his band of murderous, power hungry Samurai brethren,” he continued. “Akechi Mitsuhide would announce that Hattori Hanzo was a traitor for stealing the sword, pinning the whole murder of Oda Nobunaga on him, and using the confusion of the chaos of his lord’s death to make it seem like Akechi was not the one who landed the killing blow.”

“So the entirety of Japan was out looking for this Shinobi man who unbeknownst to Taka was carrying the Sword of Eden that could change the fate of Japan depending on who wielded it,” he added.

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

Endymion did not stop there. He shared more, “Taka would agree to treat Hanzo’s wounds and would shelter his presence from Akechi and his Samurai. Within this newfound trust Hanzo would reveal to Taka that he belonged to a mysterious Clan unbeknownst to the outside world of Iga Shinobis that were working to save Japan from the clutches of Akechi Mitsuhide and his corrupt Samurai. These Iga Shinobis would be revealed as the Japanese branch of the Hidden Ones. And this is how Taka would get introduced to the Creed of the Assassins.”

He explained, “Akechi Mitsuhide and his men would also visit Taka’s temple looking for information on whether he saw a wounded man carrying an item on him, but Taka would skillfully dissuade Akechi and him and then throw them off of Hanzo’s trail.”

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

Endymion then revealed, “Apparently one of the big branching narratives was going to be Taka going against Toyotomi Hideyoshi. … At some point in the story, I was told that this Toyotomis Hideyoshi would come into possession of the Sword of Eden himself and he would then use it to sway the people of Japan to his side. And Taka, now a part of the Igo Shinobis’ Hidden Ones would be waging a secret war against Toyotomi and Akechi in order to secure the sword and ensure Japan was freed of this Templar/Samurai rule.”

“Apparently, Toyotomi would refer to himself as the Demon King of the Six Heavens and was clearly becoming corrupted by the Isu technology within the Sword of Eden that was warping his mind and likely turn him into an untrustworthy madman who would think that everyone was out to get him,” he relayed.

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

“According to my sources, the story would eventually end with Taka defeating Akechi Mitsuhide for killing Oda Nobunaga and eventually within the shadows taking down Toyotomi Hideyoshi claiming the Sword of Eden for the Iga Shinobi Hidden Ones,” Endymion asserted.

“The story would then end with Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate ushering in a new era for Japan that would span from 1603 all the way to 1868 when the Meiji Restoration would happen. … From what I understand from this story Tokugawa Ieyasu would not use the Sword of Eden to control the people of Japan. Instead he would use charity and community to usher in a new era for Japan,” he said.

“The story would have ended with the Shinto monk Taka Yamauchi fading into the shadows with the Hidden Ones to conceal the Sword of Eden so that it may never be used by another madman ever again,” he concluded.

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

Much of these plots details are not new. In fact, they were previously shared to X back in May by Chris Fisk, who worked under contract at Aeria Games & Entertainment as a contractor with Ubisoft back in 2013 and 2014.

Fisk shared a brief synopsis of what Ubisoft was working on when he was working on the game over a decade ago, “The plot focused on the young monk, ‘Yamauchi Taka’ as the playable ancestor. ‘Taka’ means ‘Hawk’ to coincide with the then naming convention of every playable hero being named after a bird of prey (no idea if that changed with all of these newer, disjointed games that no longer have Desmond as the core hero that bound everything together).”

He continued, “The main conflict was about ‘The Sword of Eden’ (aka ‘Excalibur’, ‘Honjō Masamune’, ‘Genghis Khan’s Sword’, etc.). and how it had given its latest wielder, Oda Nobunaga, an unfair advantage in his conquest of Japan.”

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

From there he detailed, “After Nobunaga is assassinated by Hattori Hanzo, Taka becomes a part of the brotherhood and, under Hanzo, is trained as an Assassin (Shinobi). The brotherhood try to transport the recovered sword out of Japan but are beset by Jesuit (Templar) ships and it is lost.”

“To make matters worse, Hanzo is assassinated as he considers retirement as a monk. His lord, Tokugawa Ieyasu, charges Taka with finding the killer (and recovering the sword). Despite Nobunaga’s successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi acquiring the sword and going on a rampage that extends into Korea, Taka steals the sword back and mad Daimyo loses his power, weakening his campaign in Korea. Incensed by the theft, Toyotomi believes he was betrayed by the Templars and basically exterminates all Jesuits (Templars) in Japan. Taka infiltrates Toyotomi’s castle and faces him in a final battle, resulting Toyotomi’s death.”

Fisk then concluded, “The ambitious daimyo is left to die as Taka slips away before his retainers could intercept him. The now seasoned assassin spares Toyotomi’s infant heir, knowing the clan has lost its teeth and will eventually wither without Hideyoshi. Ieysau begins his ambitious power grab, demanding Taka and the Brotherhood give him the sword and help him wipe away (“abstergo” in Latin) all of his enemies from Japan to fully unite it under his clan’s banners. Taka and the Brotherhood decline and vanish into the shadows with the sword.”

 

In a subsequent post, Fisk shared more details, “I believe Hideyoshi Toyotomi was initially being manipulated by the Templars (Jesuits, Portuguese, Spanish, etc.) but when he failed to be a trained dog and fall in line, he was seen as too dangerous and unpredictable to the order. Hideyoshi’s ambitions grew to more than just Japan’s unification after getting the sword (started expanding into Korea).”

“Taka used this to his advantage and exploited the spy network of prostitutes and concubines from his master’s defeated former ally, Mochizuki Chiyomi, to learn how to steal the sword from Toyotomi,” he continued.

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

“There was European presence in the original treatment but, after losing the sword, Toyotomi believed he was betrayed by the Templars and has Japan purged of all Jesuits (crucifying several of them),” he relayed. “Without the backing of the Templars, and the loss of the sword, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was primed for Taka to avenge his master’s death and assassinate the mad daimyo.”

“The story didn’t follow up with the clash between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari (as that would have led to the pivotal point at Sekigahara and the rise of the Tokugawa Shōgunate). Europeans played significant roles during this point (especially with Nanban Trade of firearms). That could have been a great era for a sequel but the story treatments I worked on ended with the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and didn’t follow through to the conclusion of the Sengoku Jidai,” Fisk shared.

 

Much of this information was incorporated into Ubisoft’s iOS exclusive Assassin’s Creed: Memories mobile game that was released in August 2014, but was shuttered by March 2015. The game featured Yamauchi Taka and his mission to recover the Sword of Eden.

Key art for Assassin’s Creed Memories (2014), Ubisoft

It does not appear that Fisk is Endymion’s source given Endymion claimed that his sources were flown out to Japan in 2015.

He relayed, “They said they were very quickly flown out to Japan after being hired by Ubisoft for this very ambitious project. They also took many notes while researching the historical period and they found navigating a foreign city to be very challenging to do at the time. On the weekends they said that they were taken to various temples and shrines and were shown concepts like Shinto purification hand cleaning rituals and shrines that existed between modern day skyscrapers.”

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

Next, he hinted at the possibility that these plans might have been put into Memories, “They also told me they are still mad to this day that Ubisoft was willing to invest so much time and money into what they were calling a bad mobile game over their AAA Japanese Assassin’s Creed game that they were also co-developing.”

Endymion speculates that these insiders were discussing the codenamed Assassin’s Creed Jade that Ubisoft is developing with Tencent, but it is definitely possible they were talking about Memories given the similarities found in the mobile game.

It’s also possible they planned to expand on Yamauchi’s story in Memories and launch him into his own AAA game because as Endymion noted, “This all happened between 2015 to 2016 according to them. So this game has been on in and off development for almost a decade at this point.”

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

Endymion also reiterated that another source informed him that the game was changed during 2020. He said, “My source also told me they did hear that the bulk of the story and direction was changed during 2020 like I previously mentioned in my other video. And they do believe that the political climate of that time including George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter moment did leave to Yasuke being inserted over Taka Yamauchi.”

“So when my previous sources told me that they saw a fully created Japanese male protagonist, I can only assume that what they saw was indeed Taka Yamauchi as he was intended to be shown in the game.”

As for why Yamauchi’s story was shelved for the new one featuring Yasuke and Naoe, Endymion relayed, “The narrative designers at Ubisoft didn’t want Shadows to be a piece of Eden of the week again like other games.”

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

What do you make of these alleged plot details that were thrown out for Assassin’s Creed Shadows and the story of Yasuke and Naoe?