Assassin's Creed Shadows, Ubisoft's upcoming addition to the 17-year-old franchise, has been met with much controversy since its announcement. The recent surge in interest and criticism for the game in Japan itself prompted Ubisoft to respond with an apology and a promise to correct historical inaccuracies.

The developer posted the full apology today, July 23, on X (formerly Twitter). Ubisoft clarified how it had "made great efforts" to create an "immersive and respectful" model of feudal Japan in which AC Shadows is set. However, it also said that the Assassin's Creed games were never intended as historical sources, but rather as inspiration for players to take an interest in the settings themselves and explore them on their own. During development, "some elements" shown in trailers and promos "caused concern" among the Japanese public, Ubisoft wrote, formally apologizing and promising to "continue to evolve" the game until its November release.

The company also touched on the issue of Yasuke, a man believed to be of African descent who served under the legendary warlord Oda Nobunaga, who has been at the center of much of the game's controversy, namely because he was portrayed as a samurai. It explained how the goal of Assassin's Creed games has always been to take inspiration from real-world cultures and characters and draw from them to create compelling historical fiction stories, and that Ubisoft is well aware that Yasuke's position as a samurai is "a matter of debate and discussion." Still, he is the "ideal candidate" for an Assassin's Creed protagonist due to his "unique and mysterious life."

Assassin's Creed Shadows has had a rough few months, with its world premiere trailer racking up over 775,000 dislikes on YouTube alone. It's still set to launch on November 15, and Ubisoft hopes players will appreciate "the dedication, effort and passion" that's gone into it.