Ubisoft reportedly cancelled Assassin’s Creed game in post-American Civil War over political concerns

Ubisoft reportedly cancelled development on its next Assassin’s Creed game last year over political concerns due to its planned post-American Civil War setting.

As reported by Game File, the game would have been set in the Reconstruction period that followed the civil war in the 1860s and 1870s, with players taking the role of a Black former slave fighting for justice in the South and confronting an emerging Ku Klux Klan.

However, Ubisoft reportedly cancelled the project in part due to the reception to Black samurai Yasuke in this year’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which sparked a backlash over diversity and inclusion.

Game File spoke with five current and former anonymous Ubisoft employees involved in the project who were all enthusiastic about the game but were left frustrated by its cancellation.

Reportedly, word of the project’s cancellation filtered through Ubisoft from Paris last July, in part due to the backlash against Yasuke, but also due to concern over the current political climate in the US.

“Too political in a country too unstable, to make it short,” said one source.

“I was terribly disappointed but not surprised by leadership,” said another. “They are making more and more decisions to maintain the political ‘status quo’ and take no stand, no risk, even creative.”

Assassin’s Creed franchise boss Marc-Alexis Coté spoke with Eurogamer about the backlash against Yasuke last year following the game’s reveal. Discussing the “shifting cultural landscape” around representation in media, he said: “These conversations can influence how our games are perceived, but rather than shy away from those conversations, we should see them as an opportunity.

“Assassin’s Creed has always been about exploring the full spectrum of human history, and by its very nature, that history is diverse. Staying true to history means embracing the richness of human perspectives – without compromise.”

Last week, Ubisoft announced its new Tencent-funded subsidiary Vantage Studios, which will now be responsible for the company’s biggest franchises, including Far Cry, Rainbow Six Siege, and Assassin’s Creed.

Then, at the start of this week, Ubisoft revealed the Saudi-funded DLC Valley of Memory for Assassin’s Creed Mirage.