Ubisoft canceled post–Civil War Assassin’s Creed over politics

A new Assassin’s Creed title set in the Reconstruction period following the American Civil War, under development, was cancelled, according to a report from Game File. Ubisoft supposedly shelved the title in 2024 over concerns about political sensitivities in the United States and heat from revealing Assassin’s Creed Shadows protagonist, Yasuke.

Game File, citing sources speaking anonymously, reported that Ubisoft halted the development on the unnamed project last year because of the polarized political environment in the US. 

The game developer was also “walking on eggshells” after the controversy that arose from the reveal of the AC Shadows trailer, which featured a fictional Black samurai named Yasuke.

New AC game was several years from release, sources claim

Five current and former Ubisoft employees who spoke to Game File confirmed the game was in its concept stage, several years away from release, when executives opted to discontinue it.

“The idea was too political in a country too unstable, to make it short,” one source told Game File.

According to those familiar with the project, the game was intended to follow the story of a formerly enslaved black man who moves west to begin a new life after the Civil War. 

The protagonist would then be recruited by the Assassin Brotherhood, a secretive order of the franchise, before returning to the American South to fight against white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

The lore was reportedly set during the Reconstruction era, a decade that followed the Civil War, when the US government attempted to reintegrate former Confederate states and grant citizenship rights to freed slaves. 

Reconstruction officially ended in 1877, albeit shadowed by violent resistance from Southern whites and the resurgence of segregationist policies. Developers believed the story could deliver meaningful commentary on the era’s injustices. However, executives feared releasing a game set on the subject matter could brush citizens of the US in a wrong way.

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows Fallout scared Ubisoft

The cancellation came on the backdrop of the misrepresentation debate in AC Shadows, where Ubisoft was accused of bludgeoning Japanese history. The game is set in feudal Japan, featuring Yasuke, an enslaved African turned samurai, alongside a female ninja protagonist named Naoe. 

As reported by Cryptopolitan earlier this year, critics on social media platforms accused Ubisoft of historical inaccuracy and “driving a DEI agenda.”

“If there is a hill that I am willing to die on, it is defending the creative freedom of our teams,” Marc-Alexis Côté, executive producer overseeing the Assassin’s Creed franchise, said at the time.

Just months after its first trailer was released in May, CEO Yves Guillemot told the New York Times the company “is not pushing any specific agenda,” and it only intended to make games “for fans and players that everyone can enjoy.”

Creative director Jonathan Dumont, who has worked with the franchise for nearly a decade, said Yasuke and Naoe’s dual perspectives allowed players to experience different play styles: Yasuke’s brute force combat versus Naoe’s stealth and assassination skills. 

“We come in as students every time for an Assassin’s Creed game,” Dumont remarked.

The creative teams of Ubisoft wanted to produce sensitive historical stories, but its leadership was actively trying to avoid public outrage that could affect sales.

Still, Game File’s sources said enthusiasm among developers for the US-based AC game was high. Several employees reportedly saw the project as a chance to address underrepresented stories and talk about an uncomfortable period in US history.

On September 16, AC Shadows received its first major expansion, Claws of Awaji, featuring new missions and characters, which met with mixed reviews from players, many of whom complained that the content was too short for its price.

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