Petition demands Assassin’s Creed Shadows be cancelled

A petition from Japanese gamers is calling on Ubisoft to cancel Assassin’s Creed Shadows due to its lack of historical accuracy.

Ever since Ubisoft unveiled Assassin’s Creed Shadows in May, there has been a lot of criticism online. Especially over the game’s dual protagonists. Set in feudal Japan, the game is led by the African samurai Yasuke, a historical figure, and a fictional female shinobi named Naoi. This has led to accusations of forced diversity in some quarters.

The petition created by Japanese players has now collected more than 40,000 signatures. According to Petitionwritten by Shimizu Toru, Ubisoft distorts the nature and role of the samurai. This is a grave insult to Japanese culture and history. He even goes so far as to suggest that there is Asian racism:

“Recently, a serious issue of historical accuracy and lack of cultural respect has emerged regarding Ubisoft’s upcoming release, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The game is based on the Japanese samurai theme and ignores the fact that samurai are a higher class than samurai and should be “gokimono” or servants of the nobility. In fact, the first European to receive the title of samurai, William Adams (Miura Anupuri), was a standard bearer with 250 koku and served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Throughout this history, Ubisoft continues to misunderstand the nature and role of samurai.

The petition calls on Ubisoft to immediately cancel Assassin’s Creed Shadows. People are asked to seriously research and show respect for Japanese history and culture.

It seems unlikely to me that this petition will affect the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows on November 15. But it will be interesting to see how Ubisoft will react. Or will they remain eerily quiet?

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