Summary

  • In a recent tweet, Elon Musk suggested that diversity, equity, and inclusion will "kill" Assassin's Creed Shadows, referencing the game's inclusion of an African samurai protagonist.
  • A senior Ubisoft official has now dismissed those comments as needlessly "feeding hatred."
  • The executive said that Yasuke is based on a real historical figure, with his inclusion in Assassin's Creed Shadows being a result of a meticulous creative process rather than an attempt at "wokeness."

Elon Musk's criticism of Assassin's Creed Shadows is "feeding hatred," a senior Ubisoft official has said. The remark was given as part of a wider reflection on the online pushback that Assassin's Creed Shadows has received in recent weeks.

The ongoing criticism started with the game's May 2024 reveal, which served as an introduction to its two protagonists, Japanese shinobi Naoe and African samurai Yasuke. The latter's inclusion prompted some people to accuse Ubisoft of forced diversity and going "woke." That group includes billionaire Elon Musk, who recently asserted that "DEI kills art" in response to a May 24 tweet claiming that Yasuke's inclusion in Assassin's Creed Shadows is offensive. DEI is shorthand for "diversity, equity, and inclusion," a contemporary organizational framework type.

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Elon Musk's Assassin's Creed Shadows Criticism Is 'Just Feeding Hatred,' Ubisoft Exec Says

Marc-Alexis Côté, the executive producer of the Assassin's Creed franchise, has subsequently labeled Musk's sentiment as unproductive. In a recent interview with Game File's Stephen Totilo, Côté said that the late May tweet made him emotional to the point that he decided to practice a session of mindfulness, a form of meditation meant to help explore one's feelings at a given point in time. "For me, Elon, it's sad, he’s just feeding hatred," the executive opined.

'Yasuke Kept Surfacing' During Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows Research

Côté believes that trying to hit back against Musk and other people angry at Assassin's Creed Shadows having a black protagonist is futile. He hence concluded that "attacking someone like Elon" would not help convince anyone about Ubisoft Quebec's "point of view." As for what that POV actually is, the industry veteran explained that Yasuke's inclusion was a natural result of Ubisoft Quebec's creative process, which started by picking the game's setting. Once the studio was certain that it was making a feudal Japan-era RPG, it moved on to identifying the type of characters whom it wanted to star in its story, ultimately deciding on having a shinobi and samurai as protagonists.

For me, Elon, it's sad, he’s just feeding hatred.

The developer then started researching its target historical era. "Yasuke kept surfacing" during this process, not least because of being both highly mysterious and important enough to have historical records testifying to his existence. Yasuke's real-world history ended up intriguing Ubisoft Quebec to the point that it decided to include him as one of the protagonists, Côté explained. The executive also dismissed Musk's suggestion that Yasuke's mere presence is somehow evidence of forced diversity. "What Elon says is not the game that we're building," he asserted, adding that people should play Assassin's Creed Shadows for themselves before jumping to any such conclusions.

While fairly vocal, the ongoing pushback against the game's purported "wokeness" does not appear to be representative of the majority of consumers. On the contrary, Insider Gaming recently reported that Ubisoft is satisfied with the game's pre-order performance, whereas The Best War Games later discovered that even the most expensive edition of Assassin's Creed Shadows is already sold out in some places.

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Assassin's Creed Shadows Tag Page Cover Art
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
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Open-World
Action-Adventure
RPG
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Released
November 15, 2024
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Experience an epic historical action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny. Master complementary playstyles, create your shinobi league, customize your hideout, and usher in a new era for Japan.

Developer(s)
Ubisoft Quebec
Publisher(s)
Ubisoft
Franchise
Assassin's Creed
Genre(s)
Open-World, Action-Adventure, RPG