Ubisoft Cancelled Post-US Civil War-Era Assassin's Creed Game Over Fears of Political Backlash: Report

Ubisoft allegedly cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set in the aftermath of the American Civil War last year over fears of backlash and controversy amidst sensitive political climate in the US. The history-hopping action-adventure series would have reportedly visited the Reconstruction era in US history in 1860s and 1870s, with a former slave as the assassin protagonist, but plans for the game were scrapped in July 2024.

While Ubisoft has not divulged details about a potential post-US Civil War era Assassin's Creed title, five current and former employees at the French company told Game File that the people at the studio were “enthusiastic” about such a game, only to be left “frustrated” by its cancellation.

The game, according to the report (paywalled) published Thursday, would have been set in the relatively modern era following the American Civil War with a Black protagonist who had been formerly enslaved in the American South and later began a new life in the west. According to Ubisoft staff, the protagonist would have joined the Assassin's order and returned to the South to take on the rise of white supremacy and the notorious Ku Klux Klan.

Citing three different sources, the report claimed Ubisoft scrapped development on the project in July last year after receiving online backlash over the reveal of Yasuke, the Black protagonist of Assassin's Creed Shadows, which was released earlier this year. Further, the company reportedly also had concerns over the game's sensitive subject matter, especially considering the tense political climate in the US.

“Too political in a country too unstable, to make it short,” the report quoted a source as saying.

Development on the game was reportedly still in the early stages before it was halted. Ubisoft has not discussed its plans for Civil War-era Assassin's Creed title.

Assassin's Creed Shadows faced racist backlash over its Black protagonist, Yasuke
Photo Credit: Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed's Political History

It's worth noting, however, that the series has visited an earlier period in US history before. Assassin's Creed 3, which was released on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and the Wii U, in 2012, was set during the American Revolution, between 1750s and 1780s. The game also featured a person of colour as its protagonist: Ratonhnhaké:ton, or Connor Kenway, a half Mohawk assassin fighting templars in colonial-era America.

In the past, Assassin's Creed as a series has not shied away from sensitive political settings and characters. Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, a PS Vita spinoff of Assassin's Creed 3, was set in 18th-century French Louisiana and featured a mixed-race protagonist, Aveline de Grandpré, who freed oppressed slaves in New Orleans and the surrounding Bayou region.

Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry featured a Black protagonist
Photo Credit: Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry, which was released initially as an expansion to Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag in 2013, was set in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) and told the story of yet another Black man, Adéwalé, a former slave turned assassin in the West Indies.

In March this year, Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed Shadows, an open-world action-adevnture title set in 16th-century Japan. The game featured dual protagonists — one of whom was Yasuke, a real-life historical Black samurai who was in the service of Lord Nobunaga in feudal Japan.

The character sparked severe online backlash upon reveal last year, much of it racist and bigoted. Gaming at large has seen a renewed culture war in recent years, with many conservative commentators online targeting upcoming games featuring women or people of colour as protagonists and seemingly espousing progressive ideas.

Most recently, Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yotei, which released on PS5 on October 2, faced backlash after it revealed its female protagonist, Atsu, last year.