Ubisoft’s handling of Assassin’s Creed Shadows has sparked yet another controversy, this time over its newly announced release date.
The game, delayed twice already, is now slated to launch on March 20, 2025—a date that marks the 30th anniversary of the Tokyo subway sarin attack, Japan’s deadliest modern terrorist incident. For a game purportedly steeped in Japanese history, this decision has left many questioning Ubisoft’s sincerity and sensitivity. It’s a glaring misstep in a development cycle already riddled with accusations of disrespect and historical inaccuracies.
A Tragic Anniversary and a Questionable Decision
The Tokyo subway sarin attack, carried out by the Aum Shinrikyo cult on March 20, 1995, resulted in 13 deaths, over 50 severe injuries, and temporary vision impairment for nearly 1,000 people.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
READ: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Delayed Again, Will This Game Be The End of Ubisoft?
On that day, there were five coordinated attacks, in which perpetrators released sarin, a chemical warfare nerve agent, on three lines of the Tokyo Metro during rush hour. The trains attacked were all passing through Kasumigaseki and Nagatachō, where the National Diet, or Japanese parliament, is located in Tokyo.
It remains a somber day in Japanese history, commemorated as a reminder of the tragedy and resilience of its victims.
For Ubisoft, a company claiming to have undertaken extensive research into Japanese culture and history for Shadows, a game in which you play as a large black man hacking, slashing, and bludgeoning his way through scores of Japanese people, the decision to release the game on this anniversary seems either shockingly ignorant or blatantly disrespectful. Given the gravity of the attack, the release date is an especially sore point for critics who have already accused Ubisoft of mishandling the game’s portrayal of Japan.
Historical Inaccuracies and Cultural Insensitivity
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been a lightning rod for controversy since its announcement. Ubisoft’s decision to feature Yasuke, a supposedly “historical” Black samurai, as the game’s protagonist marked a stark departure from the franchise’s tradition of introducing fictional characters who interact with historical figures.
Yasuke’s inclusion as the first playable historical protagonist in the series has drawn sharp criticism. Many fans expected the game to feature a traditional Japanese male character—a samurai or ninja—rooted in Japan’s rich cultural history. Instead, Ubisoft’s choice is seen by some as prioritizing modern Western ideological trends over authenticity of an Eastern culture.
Adding to this, accusations of historical inaccuracies have surfaced, such as the inclusion of Chinese architecture in a game meant to represent feudal Japan. These missteps further alienated fans who felt the franchise has strayed from its core appeal: delivering historically immersive experience
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Qlectors Yasuke & Naoe (2024), Pure Arts
Ubisoft also faced a ton of cultural backlash for promoting a statue as Yasuke and Narue, the game’s Japanese female protagonist, posing in front and on top of a destroyed one-legged Torii gate. The symbolism of the one-legged Torii gate has significance for the Japanese people because it’s so closely tied to an iconic image of the decimated city of Nagasaki after the Atomic bomb was dropped on it in 1945.
《拡散希望》
日本ヘイト企業、犯罪企業で有名なUbisoftの「アサシンクリードシャドウズ」フィギュア長崎原爆で破壊された
「片足鳥居」をモチーフにしたと思われる破壊された鳥居をフィギュアで発売。僕は「片足の鳥居」をアメリカによる長崎原爆で破壊されたもの以外知らない。 pic.twitter.com/JIM63P8H6O
— shin (@r230614_shin) September 23, 2024
READ: Ubisoft Value Tanks: Market Cap Dropped 85% From 2021 to 2025
Back in September, the statue was blasted by X user r230614_shin. As translated by Google, the user wrote, “Please spread the word, Assassin’s Creed Shadows figures from Ubisoft, a famous Japanese hate and criminal company. A figurine of a destroyed Torii gate has been released, which is believed to be based on the “One-Leg Torii” gate that was destroyed in the Nagasaki atomic bombing.”
He added, “I have never seen a ‘One-Legged Torii’ other than the one destroyed by the American atomic bomb in Nagasaki.”
While the company touts its commitment to research and authenticity, the choice of March 20 as a release date undermines that narrative. If the developers were unaware of the date’s significance, it raises serious questions about their cultural understanding. If they were aware, the decision appears to show blatant disregard for Japanese history and sensibilities.
A Tenuous Future for Ubisoft
Ubisoft’s financial stability is on the line with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The company has faced a significant decline in value, dropping from $12.17 billion in January 2021 to $1.78 billion by early 2025. As the company’s most prominent franchise, the success of Assassin’s Creed is critical to Ubisoft’s survival. However, continued delays, historical inaccuracies, and cultural insensitivity may jeopardize Shadows’ ability to meet the expectations of fans and critics alike.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
Ubisoft’s attempt to market Shadows as a love letter to Japan risks falling flat, with missteps piling up to erode player trust. Whether this game can recover from its growing list of controversies will become clear in the months ahead, but for now, the tone-deaf decision of its release date adds to the perception that Ubisoft’s respect for history is little more than skin deep.
Do you think this Assassin’s Creed Shadows release date controversy is an oversight by Ubisoft? Is it a lack of respect for the people of Japan? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Oh shock horror these idiots should be lucky to work in a coffee shop. more delays to come i don’t have faith in modern day gaming companies that employ illegal woke dei bridge hiring practices. Maybe they should check their local Census instead of crying about diversity 🤦
I’m absolutely speechless. For my own self-preservation instinct, I HAVE to believe Ubisoft is doing this on purpose to generate hate-clicks and negative PR simply because they know they’re out of good faith and positive PR. I CANNOT believe that they are THIS stupid. There absolutely has to be an ulterior motive at play here.
It’s like they’re desperate to live up to the “scientists and students will be studying the mistakes of this for years to come” meme.
Occam’s Razor says, yes, they ARE this stupid. Look at who others just like them thought would be a good idea to install as a POTUS candidate: a woman with a confirmed 78 IQ. This is a case where saying “they have a room temperate IQ” isn’t an insult but a factual observation.
I want to see Ubisoft torn apart and completely and utterly annihilated while the Guillemots’ family to be in so heavy and harsh debt, they have to sell everything to survive. They deserve nothing less. Ubisoft should die in flames (all hyperbole; meaning not to be taken by word).
I would like to believe its pure coincidence… But come ooon!! They arent even trying to make it
I remember playing the first game where religious figures are lamenting how they’re being given a hard time about wearing hoods, because the assassins were dressing just like them in order to blend in. The whole idea was that Altair knew how to blend in and didn’t have any distinguishing characteristics. That would never work in, say, Africa, or a place where he had a very different skin color than everyone else. That should be common sense, but it’s worth pointing out when the company doesn’t understand why bonding in is important to an assassin.
Because Yasuke was literally inserted into the game as an end in itself on top of at least a formally authentic ninja girl.
At first, I didn’t particularly mind the inclusion of a black man, Yasuke.
The problem is that they are belittling Japan and advertising the game that UBI is making as if it is based on history.
I think UBI should have said from the start that future games they will release in this fictional Japan will allow players to use historical figures as playable characters.
The fact that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still being marketed as a famous legendary black samurai is a falsehood.
[…] Creed Shadows, How Ubisoft Managed to Make The Worst Decision Possible at Every Turn ∟Assassin’s Creed Shadows New Release Date is Anniversary of The Worst Modern Domestic Terrorist At… ∟The game is DOA ∟Ubisoft Seemingly Prepping for Bankruptcy Ahead of […]
By going woke, making a Japanese guy with a black guy in it killing Japanese in Medieval Japan, Ubisoft has created for itself a marketing nightmare. It’s a totally avoidable blunder.
[…] that many found insensitive, the official launch being moved after two delays to the date marking the 30th anniversary of the Tokyo subway sarin attack, numerous questionable elements from the recently leaked art book, and Ubisoft’s […]