Assassin’s Creed Shadows is in hot waters once again as fans online call out critical mistakes. What is Ubisoft doing?

Ubisoft can’t seem to make anyone happy lately as Assassin’s Creed Shadows gets even more backlash online. There are a couple of new reasons this time and the biggest one right now is because of a screenshot of the game that was recently posted online. The screenshot shows Yasuke on a “leisurely stroll” in what seems like a marketplace in town, but there are some glaring problems according to fans.

Did the studio do any research at all? | Image Credit: Ubisoft

In Yasuke’s “leisurely stroll,” we see watermelons in the scene while cherry blossom trees are blooming in the background. This shouldn’t be possible if you consider how seasons work in Japan. Once again we must question Ubisoft’s commitment to historical authenticity because this just seems like cultural insensitivity.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows can’t stop making mistakes

And we’re all here to call them out. | Image Credit: Ubisoft

Twitter/X account @_L3vi3/ASSASSIN’S CREED NEWS posted a picture of Yasuke, the protagonist of AC Shadows, alongside watermelons and cherry blossoms. This is historically and agriculturally impossible because watermelons were introduced to Japan during the Edo period, long after the game’s timeline. On top of this is the fact that cherry blossoms bloom in spring, while watermelons are summer fruits.

A lot of critics and Japanese people online are calling out Ubisoft for reducing their culture to a series of marketable tropes. Dr. Alaric Naudé who is a professor and a linguist, criticized the game for misrepresenting Yasuke’s story and attire. According to Naudé, Yasuke is depicted wearing golden armor akin to that of the Kamakura period, which would have been inaccessible to a newly arrived foreigner.

And then there’s the fact that Ubisoft has been accused of censoring Japanese critics. Japanese content creator Shohei Kondo recently alleged that his videos criticizing AC Shadows were repeatedly removed from YouTube under claims of “hate speech.” It really does seem like the studio is just ignoring cultural authenticity and reducing Japan’s rich history to marketable visuals.

Ubisoft in general is on a downward trajectory

The competition is coming and the studio isn’t ready. | Image Credit: Ubisoft

The backlash and controversies with this game are the latest in a series of controversies that Ubisoft has gotten itself into. In 2024, the company faced a lot of criticism for releasing underwhelming titles like Skull and Bones, Star Wars Outlaws, and XDefiant. Expectations aside I’m sure you’ll agree they all had problems like dated graphics, repetitive gameplay, and technical issues.

Coming back to AC Shadows though, it seems the Japanese version of the game is going to be censored to comply with local ratings. Scenes that show dismemberment and certain violent dialogues will be altered to match the rating standards. We’ll have to wait and see if this change impacts the game’s reception in Japan.

The stakes are huge though for AC Shadows. The studio needs this game to succeed because there is a lot of competition coming up. Even on the Japan side of things, we’re going to get more news and a possible launch of Ghost of Yotei in 2025, and given how successful Ghost of Tsushima was, it could easily blow Ubisoft’s title out of the water.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows comes out on March 20, 2025, and the clock is ticking. Will you be picking up the game once it comes out? Let us know in the comments!