The Fight Over a Black Samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

In the first seconds of a trailer promoting the video game Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a ninja emerges from the woods. Suddenly the camera shifts toward a riverside village of thatched roofs hidden in the mountains, suggesting that the story will unfold in feudal Japan. Seconds later, another warrior appears in the flames of a destroyed settlement. It is the game’s other protagonist, a Black samurai named Yasuke.

Some gamers erupted over his appearance, convinced that the franchise, known for its immersive recreations of the past, had “gone woke” by including a Black character in its depiction of 16th-century Japan.

Elon Musk magnified the debate with a social media post saying it was an example of how “DEI kills art,” using an acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion. Game developers received personal attacks and death threats during an online harassment campaign.

The backlash over Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which is scheduled to be released on Nov. 15 for the PC and the newest Xbox and PlayStation consoles, compelled the French company Ubisoft to remind players that its games were ultimately works of fiction.

Although grounded in history — experts say that Yasuke was possibly enslaved as a child before arriving in Japan and later ascended into the samurai class during the Sengoku period — Assassin’s Creed games also include fantastical elements like deft spies, godlike aliens and mythological weapons. A hooded assassin from the series recently appeared as a central figure in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, where the character parkoured through the city’s museums.

“If there is a hill that I am willing to die on, it is defending the creative freedom of our teams,” said Marc-Alexis Côté, an executive producer responsible for leading the Assassin’s Creed franchise, which has reached nearly 200 million players.

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