- Published on
Major Assassin's Creed forum draws a line under Assassin's Creed Shadows discussions: 'There is no debate - Yasuke was a samurai'
The Assassin's Creed subreddit bans comments disparaging Yasuke, the game's first playable black samurai protagonist, deeming such discussions as veiled attempts at intolerance and asserting that the game's historical accuracy is secondary to its entertainment value.
The Assassin's Creed subreddit will no longer tolerate comments disparaging Assassin's Creed Shadows protagonist Yasuke's inclusion in the upcoming game, announcing that those who do will be met with a ban.
Yasuke is one of two playable protagonists in Shadows, and was both a real-life samurai who served under Oda Nobunaga and Japan's first Black samurai. Since his inclusion in the game was announced, some have been debating the historical accuracy of his identity, but moderators of the Assassin's Creed subreddit say "there was never any point to these discussions to begin with outside of thinly veiling bad faith intent."
In a new post, the Assassin's Creed subreddit moderators say: "There is no 'debate' - Yasuke was a Samurai. If you disagree, you can do that somewhere else." They add: "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."
Continuing, the mods note that most fans "do not chase accuracy within this franchise and primarily play for other reasons." On that note, they say: "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."
The mod team concludes: "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."
Last month, Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot denounced "malicious and personal online attacks" which have been directed at the team recently. While he didn't directly mention Assassin's Creed Shadows, the timing of his statement lined up with backlash over the game. He said that the Ubisoft team condemns "these hateful acts in the strongest possible terms," and encouraged players to do the same.