Ubisoft canceled a game in the Assassin's Creed series. It was supposed to be too controversial and too political

Game File published an article saying that Ubisoft has canceled an unannounced Assassin’s Creed game. The game was set to take place in the USA during the Civil War and the subsequent Reconstruction era.

Concerns about controversy

Game File reports that it conducted interviews with five current and former employees of the French company. According to their accounts, the project was abandoned in the summer of 2024, partly due to negative reactions to Yasuke, a Black samurai from AC: Shadows, but primarily due to concerns related to the political situation in the USA.

The canceled game was supposed to tell the story of a black man, a former slave, who moved west in search of a new life. There, he was recruited by the Assassins and then returned to the South to fight for justice against, among others, the newly emerging Ku Klux Klan—a racist organization that still exists today.

The project was supposed to be just in the concept phase, so it was still years away from being released, but work on it was moving along. Moreover, Ubisoft employees were said to be "enthusiastically engaged" with it, and some even believed it had the potential to make a positive social impact.

Despite initial approval, the management ultimately deemed the project too controversial, which didn't sit well with some employees. One of them stated that it was "too political a game in too unstable a country."

Another Assassin's Creed set in America was the third installment released in 2012.

Most of the canceled game was supposed to take place during the Reconstruction era, which dealt with issues such as granting citizenship to former slaves and integrating the Confederacy with the Union. This process often faced violent resistance and eventually led to the creation of the Jim Crow laws, which were all about legally enforcing racial segregation.

It's no wonder that this is a sensitive topic for many Americans, and Ubisoft's management preferred to avoid further controversy. Especially since the company has repeatedly emphasized its apolitical stance, and Yves Guillemot stated in September 2024 that their games "are not intended to push any specific agenda."

Assassin's Creed: Shadows

March 20, 2025

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• Ubisoft
• Assassin's Creed (franchise)
• cancelled games