Assassin’s Creed franchise boss Marc-Alexis Coté has addressed the online backlash which has swirled around the main characters of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the subsequent impact it has had on the game’s development staff, and the attempts by bad faith commenters to disrupt and dissuade creative teams from telling stories featuring diverse and inclusive characters in general.
Speaking tonight in London, at an event organised by BAFTA and attended by Eurogamer, Coté offered a full-throated defence of his team’s work on Shadows which has come under such notable criticism this year, particularly over the inclusion of Black samurai Yasuke as one of the game’s two protagonists. Coté has addressed the subject previously, in particular when the subject was commented on negatively by X owner and billionaire Elon Musk, but never before in such an impassioned manner, in so much detail, at such length.
Discussing the current “shifting cultural landscape”, Coté described the current “discussions around representation and inclusivity in media” as an additional and previously unforeseen challenge. “These conversations can influence how our games are perceived, but rather than shy away from those conversations, we should see them as an opportunity,” he explained.
“Assassin’s Creed has always been about exploring the full spectrum of human history, and by its very nature, that history is diverse. Staying true to history means embracing the richness of human perspectives – without compromise. For example, in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we highlight figures, both fictional like Naoe, a Japanese woman warrior, and historical, like Yasuke, the African born samurai. While the inclusion of a Black samurai in feudal Japan has sparked questions and even controversy, Naoe, as a fictional character, has also faced scrutiny for her gender.