Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows just can’t catch a break. Amidst months of controversy over historical inaccuracies and cultural missteps, indie developer HistoryAccurateDevelopers has announced Yasuke Simulator, a parody game set to launch on Steam on March 20, 2025—the exact same day Assassin’s Creed Shadows is scheduled to release.
If the developer’s name and the coinciding release date weren’t enough of a giveaway, Yasuke Simulator is a direct jab at Ubisoft’s handling of Shadows and the growing list of complaints surrounding its historical and cultural liberties.
Turning Controversies Into Comedy
Despite its lower poly character models, Yasuke Simulator captures the look and feel of Assassin’s Creed Shadows closely enough to potentially make Ubisoft’s legal team sweat. The lighting, environments, and costumes are all designed to mimic Ubisoft’s visuals—just with a satirical twist.
There is now an official “historically accurate” Yasuke game on Steam that includes using machine guns and driving Japanese peasants over with your car:
Features:
Play as Yasuke:
Embrace your unique heritage as you navigate feudal Japan in a fight for survival and dignity.… pic.twitter.com/SnUHCwf9Ck
— Grummz (@Grummz) February 18, 2025
From the trailer and screenshots, it’s clear Yasuke Simulator takes the most outrageous complaints about Shadows and cranks them up to absurd levels. In this parody, Yasuke isn’t just wielding swords and traditional weapons—he’s able to pick up a modern rifle and even hop into a sports car, causing complete chaos in feudal Japan à la Grand Theft Auto. The game hilariously ranks players based on how much damage they cause, poking fun at Shadows’ controversial decision to let players destroy sacred shrines and temples.
Other tongue-in-cheek elements include dodging massive, swinging daruma dolls and encountering oversized props, highlighting complaints about the architectural inconsistencies seen in Shadows. In one screenshot, fences and torii gates tower absurdly over Yasuke, referencing the backlash over Ubisoft’s scale issues in their initial trailers.
A Direct Response to Shadows’ Backlash
Yasuke Simulator isn’t just making fun of the obvious issues—it’s also taking aim at the more nuanced criticisms that have plagued Assassin’s Creed Shadows since its announcement. Ubisoft has been under fire for its portrayal of Yasuke, with many arguing over whether the real historical figure was ever officially recognized as a samurai. In fact, Ubisoft recently scrubbed the word “samurai” from the Japanese Steam page, seemingly in response to mounting pressure.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
There’s also been widespread frustration over the destruction mechanics showcased in Shadows, where players can damage and destroy sacred shrines, including the Itate Hyozu Jinja shrine—a real-life religious site that has since requested Ubisoft remove it from the game. Yasuke Simulator gleefully mocks this mechanic, encouraging players to wreak as much havoc as possible and making a farce out of Ubisoft’s supposed dedication to historical authenticity.
Ubisoft’s Worst Nightmare?
With Assassin’s Creed Shadows already dealing with a rocky promotional period, Yasuke Simulator is likely to add more fuel to the fire. From the unauthorized use of historical imagery in concept art to the infamous destroyed torii gate statue that resembled Hiroshima’s post-bombing relic, Ubisoft’s missteps have been piling up. Now, with Yasuke Simulator directly trolling these controversies, it seems even indie developers are taking shots at the beleaguered franchise.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
Whether Ubisoft will take legal action remains to be seen, but the internet is already having a field day with Yasuke Simulator’s over-the-top satire. It’s a bold move from HistoryAccurateDevelopers, releasing their parody on the same day as Shadows, but given the state of Ubisoft’s PR at the moment, it might just steal the spotlight.
Yasuke Simulator is set to release on PC (Steam) on March 20, 2025—the same day Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches. And from the looks of it, it might just be the game that players flock to for a laugh at Ubisoft’s expense.
Will you play Yasuke Simulator? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
I wonder if Yasuke Simulator also chose to insert watermelons during a time period when Japan didn’t have them. If it didn’t, it’s less racist than AC Shadows.
I have to applaud HistoryAccurateDevelopers for their balls if nothing else. You Be Soft may be down and nearly out but they still have games urinalists sites and other Soros-backed media defending them who likely will try and sue on their behalf. I don’t think the potential litigants have a snowball’s chance but it will be fun to watch if they try.
I might, MIGHT, just play this if only because I love parody. But I never really liked GTA-style games so I’m not sure. One thing I am sure of is this is going to sell a lot more than Shadows.
INB4 Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed until like April 20th, and on the very same day Yasuke Simulator immediately gets delayed alongside it until April 20th.
Now, Yasuke Simulator sounds like the kind of game I’d want to buy.
Lol I wishlisted the game and if the price is low enough I will buy and play it, just because I hope enough people do it, so it ends up with more peak players on steam than AC shadows.
When everybody is in on the joke, it works. When you bring out communist hacks to try to convince you that Yasuke was some important historical figure, it pushes an agenda.
The best joke will be when this game has more concurrent players than AC Shadows. I’m rooting for HistoryAccurateDevelopers!
I really hope this happens. It would be peak cinema.
UBI asserts its rights but ignores the rights of others too often.
UBI must be so ignorant of history and geography that he thinks Kingmakers and Yasuke Simulator happened in history.
Two Steam curators already recommend this game. It’s clearly a must-play:
“Brilliantly captures feudal Japan’s essence, containing historical accuracy levels above it’s assassin themed spinoff. A must-play for its stunning visuals and authentic african-samurai experience.”
“Looks hilarious, I hope there is a dialogue system to “educate” chuds about the long tradition of historically accurate african samurai”
Ubisoft: You dont like our Game? Make your own!!
Gamers: Ok deal
Ubisoft: You racist!!!