With Assassin's Creed Shadows just a few days from release, Ubisoft has reportedly implemented an anti-harassment plan for developers to protect them from potential backlash on social media.
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been the target of persistent outrage from some corners of gaming fandom, primarily due to the presence of Yasuke, a Black samurai, which has amplified unhappiness with pre-release missteps and mixed messaging from the company. The game itself looks promising (our full review will arrive on March 18) and Ubisoft says preorders are "tracking solidly," but it's still an ugly environment in which to launch the game.
"We're advised not to post on social media that we work at Ubisoft to avoid harassment," one employee told French site BFMTV (Google translated, via ResetEra). Beyond that, the company has apparently also worked with Canada's Communications Security Establishment, the country's national cryptologic agency, presumably because Assassin's Creed Shadows is developed by Ubisoft Quebec.
"It's an initiative from Canada," a source told the site. "There's a team that monitors networks and acts quickly in the event of a targeted attack." Ubisoft also reportedly has psychological and legal support in place for employees who are targeted because of their association with the game, and activity on social media platforms will be monitored by a dedicated team, backed by lawyers ready to file complaints where necessary.
"Unlike what we've had before, this is serious," the source said.
It's extremely unfortunate, to put it in the mildest terms possible, that this sort of thing is necessary, but increasingly it is necessary. Targeted harassment campaigns and torrents of random abuse continue to grow: In 2023, for instance, Bungie said Destiny 2 developers were being subjected to ongoing harassment despite a $500,000 win against an abusive "fan," just because they work at the studio, and earlier this year Square Enix launched a new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from similar abuse.
GDC's 2023 State of the Game Industry survey found that 91% of developers believe player harassment is a problem for the industry; unsurprisingly, women are more likely to experience abuse from players than men, as are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
"Our stance has always been that team members’ social media channels are their own," Ubisoft said in a statement provided to PC Gamer. "Our top priority is the safety of our employees, including online, which is why, as a standard practice across Ubisoft, we offer guidance on navigating social media, digital safety, and support for team members’ well-being. We also share resources to help prevent and protect against online harassment, something our teams have unfortunately faced."
Ubisoft has previously pushed back on some of that abuse: While CEO Yves Guillemot made a fruitless attempt to mollify angry gamers in 2024 by saying the company's "is not to push any specific agenda," creative leadership has been rather more forceful about it: In November 2024, franchise head Marc-Alexis Coté said developers throughout the industry "face the added challenge of distinguishing between genuine feedback and attacks driven by intolerance," but added, "When we self-censor in the face of threats, we hand over our power, piece by piece, until freedom and creativity both wither away. We cannot let that happen."
Assassin's Creed Shadows comes out on March 20.
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