In a move that has sparked a considerable amount of controversy, game developer and publisher Ubisoft has reportedly put a stop on the development of an ambitious instalment of its flagship Assassin's Creed franchise.
The now shelved game, would have taken place in the historical action series and taken us back to the volatile landscape of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era of the early 1860s, was deemed extremely controversial for the current political climate in the United States.
The game was going to feature a Black protagonist, a former slave looking forward to starting a new life out of the West, but would have been recruited by the Assassin’s Brotherhood.
This journey would have let the protagonist back to the post-war South to fight in a active struggle for justice, making him go against the newly founded Ku Klux Klan of that time, a notorious white supremacist group.
The Merging of History and Current Politics
While the Assassin’s Creed games are known to be written into historical conflict, revolution, and regime change, by design, the subject of Reconstruction proved to be an unexpected challenge. Something a bit too out of reach for the Ubisoft executives back in Paris. According to sources which were close to the project, the cancellation was driven by two main reasons of anxiety last year.
The first was the intense online backlash that followed the reveal of co-protagonist in the recently released Assassin's Creed Shadows. It was Yasuke, the Black samurai.
The second one was perhaps a much more significant factor which was the growing concern over the unprecedented political volatility in the United States. In what looks to be a quick withdraw to prevent themselves from being a target of a huge controversy, the decision was simple. The game had to be cancelled as it was "too political in a country too unstable."
It’s an irony that a franchise that was built on assassination, widespread systemic violence, and centuries of secret wars between two all-powerful shadow organizations apparently were too hesitant to push a story about fighting historical and documented racism. The amount of neutrality required to adapt such a sensitive issue into an unbiased story campaign is not an easy task.
A Missed Opportunity for Meaningful Play
Developers who were working on the concept were documented to be very enthusiastic about its potential to serve a very powerful, socially understood narrative, which included crucial topics like citizenship rights, freedom, and identity in a vast expansive world of a popular AAA game.
According to the report, their frustration stemmed from the perception that management chose to give up on such an amazing concept, just to avoid a “potential” controversy rather than stand behind the creative vision.
The cancellation of this title shows a very significant reluctance that major gaming studios have been struggling with, that is, to tackle difficult socio-political issues in their historical games.
For now, this ambitious vision of an Assassin fighting for true liberation in the turbulent American South will remain one of the series’ most fascinating, and most lamentable, entries to never see the light of day. Ubisoft has yet to officially comment on the existence of the cancelled project, leaving fans and commentators to debate what could have been.
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