The Ubisoft development team working on Assassin’s Creed Shadows has posted a public message to Japanese fans on X/Twitter , which explains the project’s stance on historical authenticity and also apologises for promotional materials that “have caused concern” among the community. The four-page message, posted in both English and Japanese , explains that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is not intended to be a factual representation of history. Instead, it is described as “a compelling, historical fiction set in Feudal Japan”, and the developers hope that it will “spark curiosity” in players who will then hopefully research the historical period the game is inspired by.
The Assassin's Creed Shadows team has a message for our Japanese community. pic.twitter.
com/AIyWNU9YhG — Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) July 23, 2024 Ubisoft emphasises that Shadows has been made in collaboration with external consultants and historians, but recognises that it has made a mistake. “Despite these sustained efforts, we acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologize.
” While the post offers very limited detail about what Ubisoft is apologising for, it's likely that the “promotional materials” in question is a piece of concept art that features the flag of a Japanese historical re-enactment group . The flag, which is a modern-day creation and not historical, was used without permi.