Ubisoft and Assassin’s Creed have been under fire of late because of company and game development practices. The director of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has been fired and senior members of the company have also been let go because of sexual harassment as well as other issues that came to light through an investigation. Moving forward many have hoped that the company will address its sexual inequality, but a new video that has been posted by the company celebrates male characters exclusively.
There has already been discussion about how the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will allow players to change the sex of their character at will, with this different approach causing excitement with fans. In more recent Assassin’s Creed titles, there have been more options in terms of picking the sex of the protagonist but the recent video from Ubisoft does not acknowledge these characters whatsoever. Naturally, fans are drawing attention to this fact which seems to run contrary to the new commitments made by the company.
Given that the CEO of Ubisoft addressed issues of inequality, which included senior directors insisting that games have male protagonists, many are surprised that the company is still focusing on its male leads. The retrospective ad only uses clips of male leads as it chronicles every game in the series. Many will be concerned about the progress the company is making and will note that the female lead in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was not initially showcased. With this in mind, it seems that Ubisoft is still using male leads to promote its material, despite backlash about how it represents people.
Some fans believe that people should not be concerned about the representation of women in games and should accept the video as it is. While this argument has some validity amongst the fan base, it does ignore the context which has given birth to this outcry. Ubisoft has repeatedly repressed female roles in favor of males and as a result, it has very little diversity in its protagonist roster. Many will want to see a video that highlights many of the important women of the series but at the moment it seems that the damage has been done.
Ubisoft has been the center of controversy in recent months and many will hope that it does not impact its games. However, recent events suggest that the upcoming titles will have to change to avoid criticism that is being attached to the publisher. This tweet from the company and the response of fans may act as a warning to the company that does not seem to be following up on its previous commitments.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releases November 10th for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, and November 12th for PS5.
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