Assassin’s Creed Shadows sparks backlash in Japan over historical inaccuracies

Japanese critics say the video game from French developer Ubisoft distorts history and disrespects sacred sites

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A promotional still from “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” showing the game’s two playable characters: Yasuke, based on a real historical figure popularly known as the first black samurai, and Naoe, a Japanese woman who uses ninjutsu. Photo: Ubisoft

Published: 9:30am, 5 Mar 2025Updated: 11:39pm, 5 Mar 2025

Just weeks before the release of one of the most highly anticipated video games of the year, French developer Ubisoft is facing a barrage of complaints in Japan for what critics claim are historical inaccuracies and the desecration of an ancient Shinto shrine.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows, set for release on March 20, is the latest in a hugely successful historical action game series from Ubisoft. The first Assassin’s Creed was released in 2007 and its 13 sequels and spin-offs have sold well over 200 million copies.

The first game in the series set in Japan, the coming instalment takes place during the turbulent Sengoku period of the 15th and 16th centuries and allows players to control Yasuke, a real-life historical figure who has become known in pop culture as the first black samurai.

However, there is little surviving historical documentation of Yasuke’s life, including whether he was considered a samurai. He is believed to have arrived in Japan from Mozambique with Portuguese priests around 1580 and later served Oda Nobunaga, a daimyo feudal lord known as the unifier of Japan.

It’s clear that some cultural toes have been trodden on with the game

Mathew Thompson, university professor

In the game, Yasuke is depicted as a powerful samurai warrior. Critics have argued there is no historical evidence for that assertion and that it is wrong to make a foreigner one of the protagonists in a game about Japanese history.