It’s always funny when online loudmouths attempt to gin up a controversy around Grand Theft Auto 6. “GTA 6’s lead is a woman!” they scream. “It’s woke!” This is generally met with a shrug. You might hate “woke” (whatever that means), and maybe GTA 6 is woke (whatever that means), but it doesn’t matter in the face of a new Grand Theft Auto.
GTA 6 is going to be the biggest launch in the history of gaming, and there’s nothing trolls can do to stop it. It’s so massive that publishers don’t even want to be in the same release year as it. You think you can possibly hurt its sales by pointing out that its protagonist is Latina? Get real.
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Not Every Game Is GTA 6
But the same isn’t true for other games. When a game is on the cusp, when players suspect it might just be a seven out of ten, those culture war attacks do seem to do more damage. When there isn’t a prevailing positive narrative propelling a game, a persistent negative one (no matter how specious) can take hold.
I can’t help but feel that this is one of the factors that led to Star Wars Outlaws‘ underperformance last year. Not the only factor, but certainly a factor. That game was attacked constantly by trolls online, who complained about it starring a woman and about developer Massive Entertainment ‘making her ugly’. If Outlaws had launched in 2019, I suspect none of that would have mattered. But, in 2024, Star Wars fatigue had set in for much of the franchise’s fanbase. When you pair that with Ubisoft, a studio perceived as a game factory more than a fine purveyor of artisanal interactivities, the constant negative chatter can hurt.
As Ubisoft prepares for the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, I worry that the game could be hit by similar issues. Previews generally point to the game being good, but not great. It’s been pushed back multiple times which makes it seem like Ubisoft is on the backfoot. And, most perniciously, it has been assailed with constant racist controversy since Ubisoft revealed that one of its main characters was a Black man. Unlike in Star Wars Outlaws’ case, these complaints can hide under the cover of “historical accuracy.” Despite the protagonist, Yasuke, being based on a real African samurai, the game has nonetheless been the subject of constant concern trolling about why Ubisoft didn’t think that an Asian protagonist could lead the game.
If Ubisoft had gone with Naoe as the lone lead, I suspect the complaints would center around the game having a female protagonist. When Ghost of Yotei was revealed last year, streamer Asmongold’s first response was, “Do I have to play as a girl?“
The Ubisoft Brand Can Be A Hindrance
This would matter less if Shadows wasn’t an Ubisoft game. I’ve enjoyed many Ubisoft games over the years, but players don’t go to Ubisoft expecting to see things they’ve never seen before. They go expecting to play a really big game, that gives them lots of bang for their buck, and doesn’t demand too much. The Assassin’s Creed games are good hangs, but an Ubisoft game hasn’t meaningfully changed the triple-A space in over a decade — probably around the time Far Cry 3 solidified its open-world formula in 2012.
Which means that, as players anticipate Shadows’ release, it’s easier for trivial talking points to meaningfully impact how they think about the game. Though I’ve enjoyed Assassin’s Creed games in the past, none have been powerful, memorable, unique experiences like Red Dead Redemption 2. Those meaningful connections are what keep people coming back to a studio’s games, and Ubisoft just isn’t as good at forging them.
That doesn’t mean that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will fail. Valhalla sold like gangbusters, and Shadows might break through to a big audience in the same way. But, when quality isn’t dominating the conversation, it makes it easier for pernicious concerns about how “woke” the game is to take over in its place. Whether you end up liking Shadows or not, don’t let it.
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