Ubisoft reportedly has lawyers ready to fight Assassin’s Creed Shadows harassment
The publisher is prepared to protect its staff from personal abuse when the game is released
Ubisoft has lawyers and a social media surveillance group prepared for the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, according to a new report.
Update
This article previously stated that, according to the original report, Ubisoft had presented an anti-online harassment plan to the CSE, which is the name of Canada’s national cryptologic agency.
Although the source article does refer to the ‘CSE’, and says the plan was initiated in Canada, the CSE in question actually refers to “comité social et économique”, a group formed by Ubisoft’s Canadian staff as opposed to the Canadian governmental agency. VGC has corrected the misinterpretation.
After numerous delays, the game is finally set to release on March 20 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, but has been subject to more than its fair share of controversy since it was originally announced.
The most notable talking about is the co-protagonist Yasuke, a Black samurai. Some have accused Ubisoft of being ‘woke’ by featuring Yasuke in the game, even though Yasuke was an actual person in real life.
The game’s director Charles Benoit has defended the decision, previously telling The Canadian Press that Yasuke was also chosen so that players “can discover Japan through the eyes of a foreigner” at the same time as he does.
Nevertheless, the decision has led to anger from some sections of the video game community, which has reportedly led to Ubisoft making preparations for potential harassment incidents that may occur after the game is released.
According to French publication BFM TV, Ubisoft has put in place a system designed to protect its employees, with one staff member reportedly telling the publication: “We are advised not to post on social media that we work at Ubisoft, to avoid harassment.”
The report says that Ubisoft has also presented an anti-online harassment plan to its CSE (works council), to make sure employees are protected when the game is released.
Further reading
“This is an initiative from Canada,” an elected CSE official told the publication. “There’s a team that monitors networks and acts quickly in the event of a targeted attack,” they explained, adding: “Unlike what we’ve had before, this is serious.”
A dedicated unit will closely monitor messages posted by users on such social media sites as X, Reddit and YouTube, ready to react if anyone attempts to harass Ubisoft employees. Targeted employees will be offered psychological and legal support, while Ubisoft reportedly has lawyers ready to lodge complaints if a proven case of harassment is found.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ street date was broken in late February, leading to a significant number of people being able to obtain the game nearly a month ahead of its official release.
“The development team is still working on patches to prepare the experience for launch and any footage shared online does not represent the final quality of the game,” Ubisoft said at the time. “Leaks are unfortunate and can diminish the excitement for players. We kindly ask you not to spoil the experience for others.”
