Assassin’s Creed hasn’t even come out and Ubisoft is in hot water again. Does the company really think censorship is the way?

Assassin's Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to release on March 20th and Ubisoft can’t seem to avoid controversies lately as the newest one has blown up in the company’s face. The final preview for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed title just started to get reviews from major gaming outlets and one YouTuber seems to have gotten on the studio’s bad side.

A still from Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed ShadowsWe’re really not excited to see what the studio does with this. | Image Credit: Ubisoft

Japanese content creator Shohei Kondo’s videos criticizing the game have been repeatedly removed from YouTube, with Ubisoft accused of labeling the content as “hate speech.” According to people who watched the video, it was anything but, so what is the studio cooking up now?

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is going to be a big deal, but maybe in the worst ways

A still from Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed ShadowsIt’s been a steady road downhill. | Image Credit: Ubisoft

Ubisoft has a lot riding on Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The company had one of the worst years possible in 2024 with a number of financial and critical failures. Anticipated and hyped titles like Skull and Bones, and Star Wars Outlaws were underwhelming, to say the least, and even ones with potential like XDefiant have been shut down.

The studio’s reputation has gotten even worse delays, poorly received releases, and accusations of unoriginal game design. With over 20,000 employees across 45 studios worldwide, we understandably have high expectations from the studio. So it’s not a light statement to say that how well this Assassin’s Creed game is received will be a big part of Ubisoft’s future.

In typical Ubisoft fashion though, the game’s reception has already been complicated by accusations of historical inaccuracy and “woke” storytelling. The latest drama with YouTuber Shohei Kondo is not going to help at all either. Kondo alleges that his videos criticizing Shadows have been removed from YouTube multiple times, each time citing “hate speech” despite their constructive tone.


“The video is removed 7 times! Every time the video gets back, it gets removed again and again!” Kondo shared this on social media. Unsurprisingly, the community has rallied behind him in calling out the studio. “They are actively trying to suppress real Japanese voices,” one person commented.

Then there’s the other problems already brought up

An in-game screenshot of Assassin's Creed Shadows from Ubisoft.Not even a perfect game could save the studio at this point. | Image Credit: Ubisoft

The studio has been looking for trouble since the start with AC Shadows. The biggest problem that fans had at the start was the decision to use Yasuke, a Black samurai as one of the two protagonists of the game. While Yasuke was a real person, the historical accuracy of the studio’s portrayal has been questioned multiple times.

The biggest problem that fans have had is that Ubisoft isn’t focused on cultural authenticity in its portrayal of feudal Japan. Some Japanese fans have rightfully pointed out that Assassin’s Creed Shadows reduces their culture to a checklist of marketable elements rather than offering a genuine exploration of history and heritage. You’d be hard-pressed to find a good reason for these moves.

March 20th is coming quickly and it seems like the entire world wants Ubisoft to fail. The studio can either take these real criticisms seriously or it can double down and go down the path of fading to obscurity. Will you be buying or playing AC Shadows when it comes out? Let us know in the comments!