Moderators for the Assassin’s Creed subreddit threatened to ban any players who post in the forum disputing developer Ubisoft’s original claim that Yasuke is a “powerful African samurai of historical legend.”
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
Ubisoft originally claimed and still does claim that Yasuke is a “powerful African samurai of historical legend” in its promotional material for the game and Game Director Charles Benoit has also claimed players will be able to learn about the history of Sengoku Era Japan.
Screenshot of the Assassin’s Creed Shadows website describing Yasuke as an “African samurai of historical legend.”
Benoit was asked by Xbox Wire, “This is a familiar setting for gamers – how does this game differentiate its take on the setting?”
He responded, “We’re at the end of Sengoku era, in a turning point of Japan history. Assassin’s Creed is well known for its depiction of the history and accurate recreation of the world and it’s what players can expect with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’re showing real historical figures, such as Oda Nobunaga and a lot of events that happened during that time, so you’re not only playing in feudal Japan, but learning about this fantastic time period.”
“Also, we’re giving the opportunity to the players to live not just one, but the two best fantasies of Japan: the Samurai and Shinobi,” Benoit concluded.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
Ubisoft has since backtracked on this claim in an official statement to Japanese players. As part of their statement, the company posted, “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.”
Assassin’s Creed on X
Despite Ubisoft backtracking and admitting that their original claim that Yasuke is a samurai is disputed, moderators on the Assassin’s Creed subreddit are threatening to ban anyone who disputes the claim that he’s a samurai.
The moderators posted a thread on July 28th titled, “There is no “debate” – Yasuke was a Samurai. If you disagree, you can do that somewhere else.”
The thread itself reads, “With the reveal of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, there has been an influx of certain individuals spilling into various communities online such as this subreddit and raising arguments about ‘historical accuracy’. As we are all exhausted of this tedious discussion that has been endlessly talked to death, not to mention exacerbated by a recent official statement from Ubisoft, we would like to give a final reminder to those participating in these debates as to what exactly this franchise entails, and why there was never any point to these discussions to begin with outside of thinly veiling bad faith intent.”
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
The moderators continued, “Assassin’s Creed is historical fiction. This means that while certain locations, events and figures may be based on reality, and can even have a slight focus on accuracy, their depictions are largely exaggerated for the sake of a more enjoyable video game. While all of our player protagonists have been fictional to date, the introduction of Yasuke has given some people the false impression that the above rule does not apply. It still does.”
The moderators then declared, “Yasuke, who is a samurai as confirmed by multiple reputable historians around the world including from Japan, may not have held as large as a role in the real world as he does in Shadows. This is okay. It is a video game. You are not meant to use Assassin’s Creed as a sourcebook for actual historical knowledge – it is meant to compel you to do your own external research after immersing you in a glimpse of authenticity. For a helpful list on how this is generally portrayed across the series, you may explore the following links:
AC1 // AC2 // Brotherhood // Revelations
AC3 // Black Flag // Rogue // Unity // Syndicate
Origins // Odyssey // Valhalla Part 1 – Part 2”
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
“We are not here in this community to debate on historical record. Most of us understand as fans that while these games provide us a great look into what historical settings could have felt like and have fun comparing them to actual record, we do not chase accuracy within this franchise and primarily play for other reasons,” the moderators continued. “So if you are specifically here to leave comments about your displeasure about Yasuke’s inclusion or various other inaccurate details that have been pointed out in Ubisoft’s depiction of Feudal Japan, it is time to understand that this is not the place for this discussion and it never will be. Feel free to take your displeasures elsewhere, away from this franchise and its communities.”
They then concluded threatening to ban anyone who disputes the claim that Yasuke is a samurai, “Any further comments attempting to dispute Yasuke’s societal status, disparage his inclusion in game or containing statements bordering on concern trolling for historical accuracy will be swiftly removed and met with a ban.”
A screenshot of the Assassin’s Creed subreddit moderator’s post
As noted by former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern aka Grummz, the moderators of the Assassin’s Creed subreddit will have to now ban the game’s developer given they admit that the claim that Yasuke is a samurai is disputed.
Grummz wrote on X, “Reddit’s r/assassinscreed moderator says that, no matter what Ubisoft says, Yasuke as samurai is a fact and anyone saying otherwise would be banned. By this logic, Ubisoft itself would banned for posting their apology there, as they themselves admit the matter is under debate!”
Reddit’s r/assassinscreed moderator says that, no matter what Ubisoft says, Yasuke as samurai is a fact and anyone saying otherwise would be banned.
By this logic, @Ubisoft itself would banned for posting their apology there, as they themselves admit the matter is under debate! pic.twitter.com/nDFO4aEcmg
— Grummz (@Grummz) July 28, 2024
Furthermore, the claim that Yasuke is a samurai is heavily disputed. As noted by Japanese YouTuber Shohei Kondo, historian Yūichi Goza, a faculty member of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies focusing on Japanese medieval history, “concluded that theory that Yasuke becomes a samurai is based on solely on just one variation of the Shinchō Kōki manuscript. Therefore, we should be cautious about concluding he was a ‘samurai.'”
Kondo then notes that there are 60 variations of the Shinchō Kōki and the one is saying that Yasuke got some sort of short sword or house or just one of them. Just one variation of 60.”
What do you make of the Assassin’s Creed subreddit threatening to ban players for noting that the theory that Yasuke was a samurai is disputed?
