Ubisoft has had a tough go of it recently.
The company known for their vast open worlds that incorporate both first person shooter and third person melee style combat systems is struggling. A decade or so ago, Ubisoft was putting out hit after hit with franchises like Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs, anything related to Tom Clancy, and more, but that hasn’t been the case lately. The company’s reputation has changed to one much less desirable. Gamers now commonly think of Ubisoft as a company that releases games that aren’t finished, polished, or are simply bad. Needless to say, Ubisoft could use a win.
Ubisoft’s latest release, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been blanketed by controversy for years. Initially the game was set to be released in November of 2024, then was delayed to February of 2025, then was delayed one final time to March 20, 2025. Many of the controversies have centered around the historical accuracy of the game. The Assassin’s Creed franchise is known for its historical settings and characters, but it also bends history for the sake of its narratives in every game.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set in feudal Japan, a setting fans have been begging Ubisoft to use for years. Games like Ghost of Tsushima and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice have filled that void for some, but there were still lots of Assassin’s Creed fans that wanted to see the classic hidden blade used in Japan.
Much of the controversy surrounding Assassin’s Creed Shadows is about one of its main characters, Yasuke, a black samurai. There is undeniable proof that Yasuke did indeed exist, that he was black, and that he was a samurai in Japan at the time. The criticism regarding Yasuke is about how big of a role he played in feudal Japan at the time versus how big of a role he plays in the game’s interpreted version of historical events. Some of the disagreement is fueled by historical facts, but much of it is fueled by racism. There’s plenty of other controversies surrounding the game’s depiction of feudal Japan, but most of it is about Yasuke and the fact that the other lead of the game is a female character.
Regardless of what is fueling the controversy, it is bound to impact Assassin’s Creed Shadows in some way, but how much it will affect the game is yet to be seen.
As stated above, Ubisoft could use a win. They’ve had several AAA titles flop recently including Star Wars Outlaws, Skull and Bones, and XDefiant, which was recently shut down. In 2024, Ubisoft lost millions. Its most successful franchise is Assassin’s Creed, so the pressure is truly on Shadows to perform.
An anonymous Ubisoft developer admitted in a report from BFM Tech & Co that the game really needs to perform well.
“If the game performs moderately, we’re really in trouble,” the developer said. “If Shadows sells very well, we’ll be able to start breathing a sigh of relief.”
That doesn’t bode well for Ubisoft as a company. Assassin’s Creed, even though the franchise has been selling less units as of late, is fairly reliably profitable. The modern Assassin’s Creed games have all made hundreds of millions of dollars. Origins made about three hundred million, Odyssey made about four hundred million, and Valhalla actually made over a billion dollars in revenue, the first Assassin’s Creed game to do so. Clearly, the franchise is reliable, but the stakes have never been higher for Ubisoft and, draped in controversy, time will tell if Shadows can meet the financial needs of the company.
Assassin’s Creed has had several comic series that tie into their games. Comic series set in the same universe as the games, but tell a separate story have also been released. There aren’t currently any comics that tie into Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but there is a novel.
Are you excited for Assassin’s Creed Shadows? If you’ve already played it, what did you think? Let us know in the comments!