Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya seemingly defends Assassin's Creed Shadows online

Ex-Platinum Games employee Hideki Kamiya has seemingly joined the debate surrounding Assassin's Creed Shadows. It all started with an X post from the renowned game director — responsible for legendary games like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and more — where he expressed delight that the open-world game is performing well despite online backlash.

Assassin's Creed Shadows has recently come under fire from a variety of sources, with developer Ubisoft also criticized for a number of missteps with the game. Some have been critiquing it for featuring a Black samurai and LGBTQ+ romance options, while Japanese government officials have called into question its depiction of Japanese cultural monuments like shrines.

Many have taken this defense from Kamiya as him rallying against his own country. The game creator is being bombarded with accusations of bribery, among other polarizing statements.

Note: Some aspects of this article are speculative.

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Hideki Kamiya responds to criticism surrounding Assassin's Creed Shadows

Translated via Grok, the original post from Kamiya sees him seemingly defend AC Shadows from the criticism, suggesting that he does not understand the fuss when the game is doing well:

"I felt bad that it was being criticized so much, but I'm glad that it seems to be doing well in both sales and reviews... Assassin's Creed: Shadows officially surpasses 2 million players. Steam's maximum concurrent users also surpass previous titles. In the UK, it has been reported that packaged version sales are the highest this year."

Kamiya is known for confronting controversial individuals and blocking people online. Since making this post, his comments have gained a lot of traction, with many users expressing disapproval at Kamiya for seemingly defending a game that "disrespects Japanese culture."

The director labeled such individuals as "insects" for bashing a video game, with one such example featuring a netizen accusing Kamiya of being "traitorous" to his nation by supporting Assassin's Creed Shadows:

Kamiya responded to numerous posts regarding the game (Image via X)

Another user criticized Kamiya's opinion on Assassin's Creed Shadows' sales, claiming that Ubisoft's "2 million copies sold" claim is a "PR ploy":

"Kamiya-san, such articles are misleading. "2 million players" is not revenue. The publisher has a subscription service that many of those players subscribe to. There are industry reports that say studios are in trouble if their games don't sell well, so this is a PR ploy."

Kamiya responded by saying he was going to block all such users:

Kamiya remained outspoken in his responses (Image via X)

More doubts were raised regarding the aforementioned sales figures. In response, Kamiya told them to 'worry about their own income':

The renowned game director also shared a few succinct responses (Image via X)

In another post, a commenter claimed that the game's diversity and inclusion of same-sex romance go against historical accuracy:

"The game was criticized because it mocked the intelligence and feelings of its fans. It tried to force unnecessary diversity of thought into the game, bringing gay and lesbian issues into the Sengoku period. Fans must feel betrayed. The inclusion of a pay-to-play system in a single-player game is also a reason for criticism."

Kamiya refused to address these comments:

Numerous users criticised Kamiya for his take on the game (Image via X)

Many subsequently claimed that such behavior on Kamiya's behalf ensures they will not buy his games. The game director maintained his stern approach by claiming he had "no interest in your financial plan."

Following the immense vitriol surrounding Assassin's Creed Shadows, Ubisoft had to establish anti-harassment plans to protect its development team members.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.