According to reports, Ubisoft canceled an Assassin’s Creed game set in the aftermath of the American Civil War, claiming it was “too political.”
According to a new report from Game File’s Stephen Totilo, Ubisoft quietly canceled a major Assassin’s Creed project last year. The game, which was in development, was set to take players to a rarely explored era in the franchise — the post–American Civil War 19th century. The claim is based on information from five anonymous sources who either currently work at or have previously worked for the company.
Ubisoft reportedly canceled the Assassin’s Creed game for being “too political”
According to the report, the game’s story centered around a formerly enslaved Black protagonist who, after the war, tried to build a new life in the western United States. However, his peaceful existence would be disrupted when the Assassin Brotherhood called him back into action. The player’s mission would take him back to the South to confront a rising Templar threat, while also dealing with the emergence of a racist organization resembling the Ku Klux Klan.
According to sources, there were two main reasons behind the project’s cancellation. First, Ubisoft’s management reportedly wanted to avoid repeating the online controversies it faced over the Black samurai character Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The second, and more significant reason, was the belief that a game tackling these themes would be too risky given the current political climate in the United States. One source summarized the situation as “a topic that’s too political for a very unstable country.”
In fact, Ubisoft is not entirely unfamiliar with handling sensitive topics. Previously, the company successfully explored similar themes in Freedom Cry, an expansion for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, which told the story of Adéwalé, a former slave who became an Assassin. Despite the controversies surrounding Yasuke, Assassin’s Creed Shadows achieved both critical and commercial success, showing that such risks can pay off.
However, it seems the company has chosen to be more cautious this time.
What do you think about this? Do you believe it was the right decision for Ubisoft to cancel a potentially impactful and important story due to political sensitivities? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
