Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has reacted to the “malicious and personal online attacks” directed at some of the company’s employees, denouncing these comments and standing behind his workforce. In an interview on the Ubisoft blog, Guillemot was asked to discuss what things about the video game industry dismay him and what makes him excited for the future. Starting with what dismays him, Guillemot singled out the online attacks, and though he did not mention any specific game by name, it appears he is reacting to the reaction by some fans to Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
“One thing I am concerned about right now is the malicious and personal online attacks that have been directed at some of our team members and partners,” he said. “I want to make it clear that we, at Ubisoft, condemn these hateful acts in the strongest possible terms, and I encourage the rest of the industry and players to denounce them, too. I am proud to support the amazing work of our teams and partners, and I will always trust in their creative choices. We should all celebrate the hard work and talent that goes into making video games.”
Shadows features two playable characters, one of whom is Yasuke, a Black man modeled after a real historical figure who lived in Japan in the 16th century, arriving in the island nation with Christian missionaries. Despite Yasuke’s status as a real person, some criticized the decision to include him in Shadows. Elon Musk weighed in, writing, “DEI kills art,” and it’s not hard to imagine what happened next.
Executive producer Marc-Alexis Cote told Game File that he wanted to respond to Musk’s tweet, but said it would be fruitless to do so. “By attacking someone like Elon… I will not convince people about our point of view as a team,” Cote said.
“I just hope and wish that people can keep an open mind about this and see the game for what it is. It’s an Assassin’s Creed game, and I believe the best one we’ve ever built,” he added (via PC Gamer).
Going back to the Guillemot interview, the CEO was also asked to talk about what he’s excited about in the video game business. He said it’s new technology and “the potential it can bring for our developers and, of course, for our players.” Guillemot said he wished gaming hardware would evolve faster, going on to say that the lack of evolution has “held the industry back a bit when it comes to developing truly new experiences.”
“If, as game makers, we can adopt and master technological advancements like generative AI and the cloud more quickly, we will be much better positioned to create new, stand-out experiences for players,” he said.
For what it’s worth, Nintendo is confirmed to be making another console, while Microsoft has said it is working on the “biggest leap ever” for its next system. Sony, for its part, is rumored to be working on a PlayStation 5 Pro device.
