"Gears of War" executive producer Laura Fryer revealed that she was confused by Ubisoft's decision to make "Assassin's Creed: Shadow" with Yasuke as the protagonist. In a recently uploaded video titled "Elephants in the Gaming Industry," Fryer discusses how gaming companies decide to hire localization staff and consultants to mitigate risks posed by geopolitical issues.
Then, the topic changed and Fryer talked about Ubisoft and "Assassin's Creed: Shadows".
"Having gone through this, I'm confused by some of the things I saw today. Did any of the Ubisoft executives question whether making Assassin's Creed Shadows was a good idea? I've been to Japan multiple times. I worked with Namco as a producer on Revenge of Arcade and managed a Japanese team during my time at Xbox. I love the Japanese people and culture."
"Based on this experience, I would never have agreed to make this game because no matter how carefully you handle it, it's easy to make mistakes. I think they've made them.
You don't want a game to be mired in controversy before it's even been released. Maybe the storm will calm down and they can get through it, but if not, it will be a very expensive experiment. "
Ubisoft's own missteps are unlikely to go away, nor can they get away from them. Mainly because Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed executive producer Marc-Alexis Coté has made it clear that the company will continue to double down on its DEI agenda with Assassin's Creed Shadows.