Ubisoft has put together a special plan to protect the developers working on Assassin's Creed Shadows from online harassment. The company wants to shield its team members from negative comments and attacks that have been happening since the game was announced.
According to PCGamesN, an anonymous Ubisoft employee told French news network BFMTV that the company is encouraging developers not to share on social media that they work at Ubisoft. This measure aims to prevent them from becoming targets of harassment.
"We're advised not to post on social media that we work at Ubisoft to avoid harassment," the anonymous employee stated.
The backlash against the game started after its reveal, with some people criticizing the portrayal of Yasuke, a historical figure who was a samurai of African origin. The game features Yasuke as one of its dual protagonists alongside a character named Naoe.
The report mentions that Ubisoft has partnered with Canada's Communications Security Establishment to support this protection effort. "It's an initiative from Canada. There's a team that monitors networks and acts quickly in the event of a targeted attack. Unlike what we've had before, this is serious," the source explained to BFMTV.
The protection plan reportedly includes close monitoring of messages posted on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and YouTube videos. A dedicated team will watch these channels to respond quickly to any problems. As per the reports, lawyers are standing by to file complaints if harassment is proven.
"Our stance has always been that team members' social media channels are their own. Our top priority is the safety of our employees, including online, which is why, as a standard practice across Ubisoft, we offer guidance on navigating social media, digital safety, and support for team members' well-being," a Ubisoft spokesperson told PCGamesN.
The spokesperson added that Ubisoft shares resources to help prevent and protect against online harassment, acknowledging that their teams have unfortunately faced such issues in the past.
As the game is set to release tomorrow, both fans and developers are waiting to see how the gaming community responds. Early reviews are overwhelmingly positive from most media outlets. Gaming Trend awarded the game a perfect 100% score, while several publications including CG Magazine, Checkpoint Gaming, and GameSpew gave it impressive 90% ratings. The game currently holds strong aggregate scores of 83% on Metacritic and 81% on OpenCritic.