Well, that didn't take long.
Just yesterday I mentioned that we are entering the "wider audience" era of AAA game-making and... what happened the same afternoon?
Assassin's Creed Shadows gets delayed until Valentine's Day, 2025.
Here is the money quote from Ubisoft's CEO (that game journalists treat like the plague, which is understandable): "I want to reaffirm that we are an entertainment-first company, creating games for the broadest possible audience, and our goal is not to push any specific agenda."
In this statement, Ubisoft is admitting that they have inserted things into their game that have turned off customers.
What's happening in the video game industry is what we see elsewhere. Target took a gigantic hit last year for its heavy-handed queer approach in stores. Anheuser-Busch InBev is still in recovery mode after a Bud Light marketing campaign soured customers. More recently we see the same thread weave through Tractor Supply Company, John Deere, and Harley Davidson. These are huge corporations changing course because customer segments are pushing back on the social choices these large corporations have made.
Customer segments are... mushy. In my e-commerce days, we would give them names like "Susan" or "Karen." The purpose of which was shorthand for age/gender/income demos that order from you. One segment you don't want to move around is the largest one. Your sacred cow.
It's different for every company and product, but in AAA gaming it's simple; Young males dominate, of course, but that's followed by an aging male demo that still likes playing games. It's very broken up after that. So, imagine a pizza with 8 slices. These two (male, game a lot) groups are about 5 of those slices.
It doesn't matter if you like it or not. It just is what it is for AAA games. Producing a product that appeals to the remaining three slices will obviously net you less revenue for a game that costs a truckload of money.
Bad business.
The third rail for Assassin's Creed Shadows is race. Black and white is the tired horse that people trot out in the US but this game is set in Japan, about Japanese history. And that means Culture more than race. Ubisoft decided to depart from its regular race/culture strategy for one of its protagonists this time.
Kenway, Conner, Basim, Eivor, Kassandra, Alexios, are recent characters that have "fit" in culturally with the game they are written into so it is no surprise that Yasuke from Shadows is drawing attention. It does seem like a good idea on the surface but it doesn't seem to "fit" what Ubisoft has done in the recent past when you play it out further (think: The Five Whys).
Having a non-native character chopping up a Japanese village and its people should have been a no-fly zone for Ubisoft. It's not that Yasuke is black. Put any non-Japanse person in that role and it doesn't work. Instead, they went all in. There are even some preview vids of the Japanese townspeople bowing to Yasuke. Something that is a game-breaker.
Criticism of this choice started early and pressure increased on Ubisoft to make a statement, which they did to horrible effect and one I'll leave you to look up.
Ubisoft's recent Star Wars release is another example of missing millions in sales. The choice of the main protagonist is a miss. It's not that it is a woman. It's that they chose a goofy millennial playing the role of Han Solo, one of the most recognizable characters in entertainment history, down to the way she dresses and moppy hair. It's like buying your 13-year-old Lego lover a knockoff set for their birthday. Why not make a new character here? Why not just use Solo? Do create a character? It's cheap and sales reflect that.
Now what?
Ubisoft will likely make the news for cutting staff in the near term. After that, I think, they will revisit what to do with Shadows. It's their tentpole franchise, after all. Losing even 5% of regular customers would put the company in jeopardy.
I think they should place the game on hold until they sort out Yasuke. Maybe make his Samurai master the main protagonist and Yasuke part of his larger story? Or just have Shinobi as the main. Or create a 3rd Japanese character for people to play. Create a character? Just thoughts. Or, don't release it, write it off and move on to another game.
In any case, they have backed themselves into a corner here.
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Full quote from Mr. Guillemont...
"Our second quarter performance fell short of our expectations, prompting us to address this swiftly and firmly, with an even greater focus on a player-centric, gameplay-first approach and an unwavering commitment to the long-term value of our brands," said co-founder and CEO, Yves Guillemot.
"Although the tangible benefits of the Company’s transformation are taking longer than anticipated to materialise, we keep on our strategy, focusing on two key verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences – with the objective to drive growth, recurrence and robust free cash flow generation in our business.
"I want to reaffirm that we are an entertainment-first company, creating games for the broadest possible audience, and our goal is not to push any specific agenda. We remain committed to creating games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy," Guillemot concluded.
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