Ubisoft reportedly has an anti-harassment plan ahead of AC Shadows' release

With the release of AC Shadows on the horizon, Ubisoft is seemingly on the defensive from online harassment campaigns that could potentially target their development team members. The upcoming open-world stealth-action game has been facing a lot of backlash from alt-right grifters for featuring the African samurai Yasuke. This has resulted in concern about "woke ideologies" being pushed by this narrative.

Knowing well how vitriolic gamers in several online spaces can be, Ubisoft is ready to nip any potential threats to their developers in the bud right away.

Here's everything to know about the controversy surrounding AC Shadows, and how Ubisoft aims to handle it.

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Ubisoft's anti-harassment plan aims to shield AC Shadows developers from online trolls

The protagonist Yasuke has been a centrepiece of the controversy surrounding the game (image via Ubisoft)

French website BFM TV spoke to some Ubisoft employees about the publisher's strategy for AC Shadows, which includes an anti-harassment strategy to curb verbal abuse, death threats, or worse, against their staff. To begin with, developers are seemingly advised to refrain from posting online about the game or showing that they are affiliated with the project in any fashion.

It is not uncommon for individuals working on a big-budget game to post about their involvement once it has launched, but this time the key staff just may have to duck and wait till the storm has passed. As an added layer of security, Ubisoft will also be actively monitoring social media sites to track any material that could harm their team and the game and then retaliate with defamation lawsuits if required.

In the potential event that team members are affected in any manner, the company will provide legal and psychological support to them. The publisher has been walking on eggshells since the reveal of AC Shadows, or rather since it was revealed that Yasuke would be one of the two main characters - which is silly since Yasuke has been a part of gaming across many Koei Tecmo games.

Ubisoft is under pressure on more than one front (Image via Ubisoft)

Citing racism on Ubisoft's part, many netizens have been quick to blame the French developer for pushing an "ulterior motive" by refusing to add a Japanese male protagonist and, instead, catering to minorities by opting for a non-native hero. While clearly a non-issue, this has seemingly grown into a big enough problem, and the company has had to take such measures.

With the rise of alt-right content and grifters across YouTube, X, and other sites that are on a crusade to put down and slander any game that is "woke" or has adjacent elements, this is an understandable move from Ubisoft. Additionally, trolls are not the only problem the company has to contend with.

In light of internal controversies surrounding workplace harassment, declining game profits, and canned projects, Ubisoft has its fingers crossed to see AC Shadows succeed. After all, it is not just their biggest game to date; its success will also decide the fate of the publisher with investors here onwards.

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AC Shadows launches on March 20, 2025, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.