'Our goal is to not push any specific agenda', says Ubisoft's CEO to gamers who are angry about a Black samurai character in Assassin's Creed Shadows

Assassin's Creed Shadows has been one of the most anticipated video games of the year. However, it's also caused controversy among some gamers because of its inclusion of Yasuke - a Black samurai. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot addressed the "polarized comments" in today's surprise announcement about an Assassin's Creed Shadows delays. He said that Ubisoft's video games are not intended to reflect any particular agenda.

Guillemot stated in today's financial report that the company is a entertainment-first business, creating games to appeal to a wide audience. Our goal is to not push any particular agenda. "We are committed to creating games that fans and players can enjoy.

Guillemot's tone has changed dramatically since June, when he condemned "malicious online attacks" against Ubisoft staff and partners.

Guillemot stated at the time, "I want to make clear that Ubisoft condemns these hateful acts and I encourage other players and the industry to denounce them as well." "I am proud to be able to support our teams and partners and I will always have faith in their creative decisions."

The statement today is, by contrast, unhelpful and frankly I believe it borders on cowardice. The backlash against Assassin's Creed Shadows is fierce, but it also comes from a very small segment of the gaming community. This group is very-driven. It makes no sense that traveling to the Animus through magic is a normal part of videogames, while a Black samurai, based on a historical character, is out of place. It's not possible to appease this disingenuous group with hollow statements about how it's just fun and games and that we should all get along.

The loudest Yasuke critics are demanding that the character be removed from the game and replaced with a "authentic" Japanese character. It's utterly absurd. Anyone who thinks that they can satisfy this group with such anodyne nonsense should take a look at how the response to the announcement of the delay on X was received.

Ubisoft has tried to soothe the perpetually angry in the past, but with little success. In July, Ubisoft released a statement stating that Assassin's Creed Shadows was not intended to be a "factual portrayal of history or historical characters" and that "while Yasuke's depiction as a samurai is in Assassin's Creed Shadows we acknowledge that this a matter for debate and discussion." As we noted, the new Assassin’s Creed had faced some legitimate criticism. But the defense of Yasuke was entirely unnecessary. Worse, it emboldened the reactionary gamers who believe diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are somehow ruining video games.

Marc-Alexis Cote, executive producer of Assassin's Creed Shadows, did better when he called Elon Musk out in June for "feeding hate" about the game. Cote, also wisely, didn't respond to Musk's Tweet about Assassin's Creed Shadows. He said, "By slamming someone like Elon...I will not convince people of our point-of-view as a team."

I'm not a videogame executive, but that's my opinion. Ubisoft will never satisfy its worst, most hateful critics, and it should not waste time trying. It would be better to draw clear lines about where it stands on any issue, even something as simple as, "racist bullshit won't be tolerated." It's possible: Bethesda Softworks embraced the anti-Nazi political stance in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus by saying, "This game is all about."

Ubisoft has a bad history with this sort of thing. Ubisoft executives have repeatedly insisted that their games, including The Division (in which an American hit team infiltrates a Third World country to topple its government) and Far Cry 5 - in which a Christian fundamentalist cult seizes control of a backwater Montana town and only heavily armed locals are able to stop them - are not political. Guillemot's statement will have the same effect, i.e., no impact.