According to a new report by Game File’s Stephen Totilo, gaming giant Ubisoft quietly canceled a major Assassin’s Creed project last year. The in-development game would have taken players to a period not previously explored in the series, the 19th century, just after the American Civil War. This claim is based on five unnamed sources who work for or have worked for the company.
Ubisoft canceled Assassin’s Creed game for being “too political”
According to the report, the game would have focused on a Black character who was enslaved in the antebellum American South and later sought to build a new life in the western regions of the country. However, his quiet life would be cut short when he was called to duty by the Brotherhood of Assassins. The player would have returned to the South to confront a rising Templar threat and, in the process, combat the rise of a racist organization like the Ku Klux Klan.
According to sources, there are two main reasons behind the project’s cancellation. First, it’s attributed to Ubisoft’s management’s reluctance to relive the online controversy surrounding the black samurai character Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Second, and more telling, it was management’s belief that a game exploring these themes would be too risky in the current political climate in America. One source summarized the situation as “too political a topic in a very unstable country.”
In fact, Ubisoft is no stranger to such sensitive topics. The company previously successfully tackled similar themes in Freedom Cry, the expansion pack for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, telling the story of Adéwalé, who escaped slavery and became an Assassin. Despite the Yasuke controversy, Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ massive critical and commercial success demonstrates that such risks can be rewarding. However, it appears the company has chosen to be more cautious this time around.
So, what are your thoughts on this? Is it right for Ubisoft to cancel a project with such high potential and an important story due to political sensitivities? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
