In mid-May, Ubisoft shared the first details of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the next installment of the successful open world franchise. The official announcement excited many, but also displeased others due to the nationality of one of the main characters. The producer of the project is aware of the criticism.
The developers confirmed that the video game set in Feudal Japan will have 2 protagonists: Naoe, a female shinobi; and Yasuke, a black samurai based on a historical figure who existed in real life. Precisely, the inclusion of this last character raised the eyebrows of many.
Dozens of fans took to social media to accuse the open-world video game of being “progress”. The reason? The inclusion of Yasuke, an African man who was under the command of Oda Nobunaga. His detractors argue that there is not enough evidence to prove that he was a samurai in real life.
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“It only fuels hate,” Assassin’s Creed Shadows producer reacts to criticism
One of the people who attacked the Ubisoft video game was the South African tycoon Elon Musk, who in a tweet regarding the issue stated that “DEI kills art.” For those who do not know, DEI is a term that refers to an organizational practice that aims to promote fair treatment between people and whose abbreviation means “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”.
In a recent interview with the media Game File, Marc-Alexis Côtéfranchise producer Assassin’s Creedspoke about the negative reaction caused by the revelation of the new installment and justified the inclusion of Yasuke as the protagonist.
During the talk, the producer recalled the Tesla owner’s comment and confessed that the tweet in question generated many emotions in him, and he even revealed that he was about to reply to him; However, he chose to ignore it. “For me, Elon is sad and alone feed hate“, he claimed.
Marc-Alexis Côté recognizes that responding to the comments of detractors and angry people is useless, stating that “attacking someone like Elon” will not help convince people about his “point of view.” Ubisoft Quebec. So, trust that the audience will keep an open mind and understand the studio’s creative decisions.
In this regard, the producer highlights that the idea of putting Yasuke in the leading role arose organically while the development team was researching the historical period in which it would be set. Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
“What Elon says is not the game we built. People will have to play for themselves. And if in the first 11 minutes and 47 seconds are not convinced of what we do, we can have that discussion (…) I just hope and wish that people can maintain the open mind about this and see the game as it is. It is a title of Assassin’s Creed and I think it is the best we have ever created,” highlighted the producer.
But tell us, do you think the criticism is justified? Do you think players are exaggerating and will you give the game the benefit of the doubt? Let us read you in the comments.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows It will be available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 15, 2024. You will find more information about it by visiting this page.
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