Assassin's Creed reddit takes firm stance on Yasuke "debate", says Ubisoft "exacerbated" issue with statement
"There was never any point to these discussions outside of thinly veiling bad faith intent."
The main Assassin's Creed reddit, subscribed to by more than 717,000 users, has taken a firm stance on the continuing backlash to Black samurai Yasuke protagonist in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
A post from the popular reddit's moderation team has drawn a line under the ongoing "'debate'" over whether the real-life figure of Yasuke was a samurai or not, and to what extent his depiction in Assassin's Creed Shadows will be historically accurate.
It's a matter Ubisoft appeared to wade into last week via a vaguely-worded statement that raised eyebrows after it apologised for "some elements" in the game's promotional materials it said had "caused concern" among some Japanese fans. Now, in a lengthy statement, the moderation team says Ubisoft's statement had "exacerbated" the matter further.
"With the reveal of Assassin's Creed Shadows, there has been an influx of certain individuals spilling into various communities online such as this subreddit and raising arguments about 'historical accuracy'," the Assassin's Creed reddit moderation team wrote.
"As we are all exhausted of this tedious discussion that has been endlessly talked to death, not to mention exacerbated by a recent official statement from Ubisoft, we would like to give a final reminder to those participating in these debates as to what exactly this franchise entails, and why there was never any point to these discussions to begin with outside of thinly veiling bad faith intent.
"Assassin's Creed is historical fiction. This means that while certain locations, events and figures may be based on reality, and can even have a slight focus on accuracy, their depictions are largely exaggerated for the sake of a more enjoyable video game. While all of our player protagonists have been fictional to date, the introduction of Yasuke has given some people the false impression that the above rule does not apply. It still does.
"Yasuke, who is a samurai as confirmed by multiple reputable historians around the world including from Japan, may not have held as large as a role in the real world as he does in Shadows. This is okay. It is a video game. You are not meant to use Assassin's Creed as a sourcebook for actual historical knowledge - it is meant to compel you to do your own external research after immersing you in a glimpse of authenticity."
The moderation team goes on to provide an extensive series of links to a "helpful list" of historical inaccuracies in every Assassin's Creed game so far, collated by fans.
"We are not here in this community to debate on historical record," the statement continues. "Most of us understand as fans that while these games provide us a great look into what historical settings could have felt like and have fun comparing them to actual record, we do not chase accuracy within this franchise and primarily play for other reasons.
"So if you are specifically here to leave comments about your displeasure about Yasuke's inclusion or various other inaccurate details that have been pointed out in Ubisoft's depiction of Feudal Japan, it is time to understand that this is not the place for this discussion and it never will be. Feel free to take your displeasures elsewhere, away from this franchise and its communities.
"Any further comments attempting to dispute Yasuke's societal status, disparage his inclusion in game or containing statements bordering on concern trolling for historical accuracy will be swiftly removed and met with a ban."
The post itself has now been locked due to "brigading", an update from the moderation team states.
Online discussion around Yasuke, stoked up by outraged YouTube and social media channels, has centred on the Black character's prominence in the fedual Japan-set game alongside shinobi co-star Naoe, and criticism of a particular historian Ubisoft consulted with over Yasuke's real-life background.
The debate has spilled over into the real-world, too, enough that a fringe Japanese politician requested the Japanese government comment on the matter - to seemingly no meaningful result.
In a thread on X by Jeffrey J Hall, a university lecturer on Japanese politics, the outcome was described thus: "Foreign Ministry: it's not our concern. Education Ministry: canned answer saying games shouldn't violate 'public order and morals'. METI [Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry] declined to answer because it doesn't concern them."
"Internet culture warriors hyped up the NHK Party's questions like they were a huge thing, not understanding that Japanese government ministries aren't in the business of censoring works of historical fiction," Hall concluded. "This kind of questioning is common in Japanese politics and is often just performative. Many of these content creators did not inform their audiences that the NHK Party is a tiny party with almost zero practical political influence in Japan."
Last month, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot spoke out to condemn "malicious and personal online attacks" directed at Assassin's Creed Shadows' development team in the wake of the game's reveal.
Assassin's Creed boss Marc-Alexis Coté has also addressed the matter, and discussed how he reacted to a tweet from billionaire X and Tesla owner Elon Musk criticising diversity in game design.