Ubisoft Reportedly Canceled an Assassin's Creed Game Featuring a Former Slave

Assassin's Creed is one of the most important and long-running sagas in Ubisoft's portfolio, and its characteristic ability to be set in virtually any historical period means that many concepts are continuously proposed and evaluated. Some are chosen and become games; others are not, and become nothing [cit.].

According to an anonymous source reported by Game File, Ubisoft reportedly rejected a project in the series last year, despite it having been previously approved. However, the reasons were not related to development problems, a weak plot, or an uninteresting historical period, but solely to socio-political reasons.

The Assassin's Creed Canceled for Being Too Political

The chapter in question would have been set in the United States immediately after the end of the Civil War (after 1865, therefore) and would have featured an African former slave as the protagonist. The game would have explored the condition of enslaved populations and would have also witnessed the rise of racist movements such as the KKK.

According to Game File's source, Ubisoft decided to cancel this project in 2024 because it was "too political in a nation too unstable." Indeed, the decision came after the French-American company found itself in a whirlwind of controversy and attacks related to the character of Yasuke, the black Samurai from Assassin's Creed Shadows.

"I was terribly disappointed but not surprised by management – the anonymous source states – They are increasingly making decisions to maintain the political 'status quo' and not take a stance or risks, not even creative ones."

Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft, and Past Choices

In reality, the Assassin's Creed series itself has already dealt with the conditions of black people, slaves or former slaves, Creoles, and mulattoes in the past: does Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, set in Louisiana in 1765, ring a bell? The story starring Aveline debuted on PS Vita in 2012 – hence our Review – and then arrived on PS4 in 2014 with the title Assassin's Creed Liberation HD – this version also Reviewed by us. However, those were different times, and a certain Barack Obama lived in the White House...

Beyond these political motivations, however, it must also be considered that Ubisoft, like many other software houses, has spent the last 365 days cutting numerous projects and expenses in an attempt to balance the books during a particularly complicated period for the industry: the unencouraging results of the repeatedly delayed Skull & Bones or the flop of The Division Heartland certainly haven't helped the company's coffers, which therefore has more than one reason to limit ongoing projects.

We also remind you that last March, Ubisoft signed an agreement with Tencent that freed it from many burdens, with the formation of a new studio whose work we do not yet know, and in the meantime sells brands and projects to other software houses.
It doesn't seem like the right time to take risks with a message contrary to the establishment...