Summary
Renowned Japanese video game designer Hideki Kamiya has reflected on the recentAssassin’s Creed Shadowscontroversies by asserting that “normal people” don’t care about them. His remarks were offered alongside some high praise for theAssassin’s Creed Shadowsdevelopment team.
The latest entry in Ubisoft’s long-running series has been mired in controversy since its May 2024 reveal, which confirmed that the game would have a black protagonist, based on a real historical figure known as Yasuke. This fueled a lot of online vitriol, including cases of people vandalizing Yasuke’s Wikipedia page andElon Musk declaring “DEI kills art” while referencingAssassin’s Creed Shadows.
Famous Japanese game designer Hideki Kamiya has recently reflected on this state of affairs by stating that “a few super-intense people” made “a big fuss” aboutAssassin’s Creed Shadows. At the same time, the creator ofOkamiandBayonettabelieves that these detractors are simply a loud minority, having said as much in a March 24 tweet. Elaborating on this notion, Kamiya asserted that most “normal people” adopt an “it’s fine” stance when it comes to things like video game-related drama, noting that this phenomenon isn’t exclusive to theAssassin’s Creed Shadowscontroversies.
Bayonetta Creator Thinks Assassin’s Creed Shadows Controversies Are Overblown
As a result, Kamiya believes that all the backlash surrounding Ubisoft’s latest game is way overblown. He concluded his thoughts by wondering if there was some “way to make these ‘normal people’ equally visible” in online discourse so as to provide some context for every instance of social media controversy. Kamiya also reflected on the recent confirmation thatAssassin’s Creed Shadowssurpassed 2 million playerswithin 48 hours of its release, stating that he’s glad the game is doing well both in terms of sales and critical acclaim.
Despite the early social media backlash, the game’s dual-protagonist approach has been widely praised by reviewers as one of the game’s strengths. Not only canAssassin’s Creed Shadowsbe mostly played with whichever character players prefer, but its two protagonists have vastly different playstyles, so their inclusion helps the game cater to a wide audience—including people who like to do things stealthily and those who prefer combat. Many NPC interactions also play out differently depending on which character the player is controlling, further underlining how the game is designed around the dual-protagonist approach rather than treating it as an afterthought.
The launch ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis already estimated to have exceeded every prior entry in the franchise barValhalla. However, since the 2020 game benefited from being a cross-gen title and received a substantial boost from the global pandemic, surpassing its success was always going to be a tall order.
