Summary
- Okami and Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya believes that the recent Assassin’s Creed Shadows controversies are overblown.
- The famous Japanese video game designer said that some “super-intense” individuals have recently taken aim at Ubisoft’s game, but asserted that “normal people” don’t care about the kind of drama they were stoking.
- Kamiya also praised the Assassin’s Creed Shadows launch, stating that he’s glad the game is doing well in terms of sales and reviews.
Renowned Japanese video game designer Hideki Kamiya has reflected on the recent Assassin’s Creed Shadows controversies by asserting that “normal people” don’t care about them. His remarks were offered alongside some high praise for the Assassin’s Creed Shadows development team.
The latest entry in Ubisoft’s long-running series has been mired in controversy since its May 2024 reveal, which confirmed that the game would have a black protagonist, based on a real historical figure known as Yasuke. This fueled a lot of online vitriol, including cases of people vandalizing Yasuke’s Wikipedia page and Elon Musk declaring “DEI kills art” while referencing Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
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Famous Japanese game designer Hideki Kamiya has recently reflected on this state of affairs by stating that “a few super-intense people” made “a big fuss” about Assassin’s Creed Shadows. At the same time, the creator of Okami and Bayonetta believes that these detractors are simply a loud minority, having said as much in a March 24 tweet. Elaborating on this notion, Kamiya asserted that most “normal people” adopt an “it’s fine” stance when it comes to things like video game-related drama, noting that this phenomenon isn’t exclusive to the Assassin’s Creed Shadows controversies.
Bayonetta Creator Thinks Assassin’s Creed Shadows Controversies Are Overblown
As a result, Kamiya believes that all the backlash surrounding Ubisoft’s latest game is way overblown. He concluded his thoughts by wondering if there was some “way to make these ‘normal people’ equally visible” in online discourse so as to provide some context for every instance of social media controversy. Kamiya also reflected on the recent confirmation that Assassin’s Creed Shadows surpassed 2 million players within 48 hours of its release, stating that he’s glad the game is doing well both in terms of sales and critical acclaim.
Despite the early social media backlash, the game’s dual-protagonist approach has been widely praised by reviewers as one of the game’s strengths. Not only can Assassin’s Creed Shadows be mostly played with whichever character players prefer, but its two protagonists have vastly different playstyles, so their inclusion helps the game cater to a wide audience—including people who like to do things stealthily and those who prefer combat. Many NPC interactions also play out differently depending on which character the player is controlling, further underlining how the game is designed around the dual-protagonist approach rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Ubisoft recently confirmed that the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows has exceeded every prior entry in the franchise bar Valhalla. However, since the 2020 game benefited from being a cross-gen title and received a substantial boost from the pandemic, surpassing its success was always going to be a tall order.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language