‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Associate Director Says It’s Been “Very Tricky” Adapting Feudal Japan Into Video Game Form: “We Want To Avoid Telling A Culture About Their Own Culture”

Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa) finds himself at a major historical turning point in Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft
Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa) finds himself at a major historical turning point in Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft

According to Associate Director Simon Lemay-Comtois, one of the biggest challenges faced by Ubisoft in creating Assassin’s Creed Shadows was adapting the setting of Feudal Japan to a digital setting, particularly as the game’s dev team want to “avoid telling a culture about their own culture”.

Naoe (Masumi Tsunoda) attempts to blend in with a crowd in Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft
Naoe (Masumi Tsunoda) attempts to blend in with a crowd in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft

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Lemay-Comtois, whose history with the franchise has also seen him serve as a menu designer on Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and a general game designer on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, spoke to his team’s experience working on Shadows‘ setting during a recent interview with GamesRadar+‘s Catherline Lewis.

Beginning with praise for how his team is “really good at taking a place that has not been put in a game and then putting in game”, the director then noted that it was actually this exact talent that caused them problems, as Japan is not an unfamiliar setting, but rather has been “showcased in many, many medias”, particularly by the nation’s “own culture of video game development”.

“So we had to be very careful to handle it with care, to do our research, to due diligence, to double check with Japanese experts on astounding amounts of details,” he added, raising the fact that locals took off their shoes when they went inside as an example of the ‘astounding’ information they learned during this process (yes, really).

Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa) finds himself brought before Oda Nobunaga (TBA) in Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft
Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa) finds himself brought before Oda Nobunaga (TBA) in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft

To this end, Lemay-Comtois then admitted, “Japan has been, I would say, very, very tricky, and we want to be respectful about everything Japan.”

“We want to avoid telling a culture about their own culture,” he explained. “That’s one of the reasons as well why we have Yasuke as an outsider in the game. His perspective allows us to be a little more, I would say, free in terms of what Yasuke can do or say, as he’s not from Japan and he doesn’t know exactly everything. We were careful and attentive to feedback, and still, it’s been a pretty constructive journey learning about Japan on the way.”

Naoe (Masumi Tsunoda) rides across the Feudal Japanese landscape in Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft
Naoe (Masumi Tsunoda) rides across the Feudal Japanese landscape in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft

This sentiment was reportedly echoed by the game’s Creative Director, Jonathan Dumont, who in a separate interview told the outlet that Ubisoft were trying to be “careful that we’re not making a Japanese game. We’re making an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan.”

Claiming that the dev team “want to make a good game set in Japan” because “our fans want it,” Dumont further noted that the game’s recent (and second overall) delay from February 14th to its current release date of March 20th has “allowed us actually to fine-tune and perfect and debug further down so that we can deliver that experience”.

Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa) learns the art of swordplay in Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft
Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa) learns the art of swordplay in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft

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Though ostensibly a ploy to try and build some last-minute goodwill for the game ahead of its release, Lemay-Comtois’ statement is likely to raise an eyebrow on the faces of many a player given that it’s been well-documented that the Shadows team has been less-than-concerned about accurately portraying the Sengoku era of Japan.

From basing buildings on Chinese rather than Japanese architectural designs, to attempting to pass off a replica of Zoro’s Sandai Kitetsu sword from One Piece as an authentic replica of a traditional samurai katana, to arguing that Yasuke was an actual samurai despite the research that popularized this conclusion being highly suspect, Ubisoft has shown a significant lack of care in handling their settings and inspirations.

Naoe (Masumi Tsunoda) prepares to kill in Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft
Naoe (Masumi Tsunoda) prepares to kill in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft

Admittedly, it’s possible that Lemay-Comtois’ assurances are based on the current mentality of the Shadows dev team, as in following the announcement of the game’s initial delay, alleged insiders informed Insider-Gaming‘s Tom Henderson that the extra dev time was being used to address “many of the historical and cultural concerns.”

“This includes changing some of Yasuke’s story and how he’s portrayed in the game, fixing architectural details, and ensuring that the game is historically grounded while fitting into the Assassin’s Creed universe,” recapped of his source’s information. “

Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa) has studied the blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft
Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa) has studied the blade in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2025), Ubisoft

However, given that this is still current era Ubisoft, there still exists a very good chance that the promise of ‘historical dedication’ will ultimately remain unfulfilled.

All in all, the truth shall be revealed when Assassin’s Creed Shadows hits the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, Mac, and PC platforms on March 20th.

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