The latest Assassin’s Creed game in the beloved franchise loosely based on historical events, called Assassin’s Creed Shadows, has generated controversy among fans for one of its leading characters, a real-life figure named Yasuke who was a samurai believed to have been of African origin.
Ubisoft, the creator of Assassin’s Creed, released a trailer for the new game Wednesday. The game, which will be released on Nov. 15, is set in feudal Japan and features two lead characters: Yasuke and Naoe. While Naoe is a fictional character, her father is real-life historical figure and shinobi. Yasuke is a historical figure believed to have been of African origin who was a samurai during the 16th century. He is widely considered to be the first-ever foreigner to be granted warrior status in Japan, and was the .
But some fans took to the internet after the trailer’s release to criticize Ubisoft for setting the game in Japan and not having its leading character be Japanese.
“Assassin’s Creed being based in Japan and then NOT using a Japanese male protagonist is stupid,” . “We know exactly why they’re using Yasuke (THE MESSAGE) and it’s annoying. It would be as dumb as having it based in Africa and deciding to use a white male protagonist.”
“Ubisoft has never made a game with a male East Asian protagonist,” one fan said on X, to a post from Assassin’s Creed about the new game. “Do they hate East Asian males?”
Some fans accused Yasuke of , calling him just a “retainer.” But a retainer is still a samurai—the term refers to a vassal in feudal Japan, offering military services.
Hi there. Tre Watson, B.A. Asian studies, focus on Japanese history.Retainers were still samurai. Yasuke was favored by Nobunaga and was by his side until the Honnouji incident, where he ran to Nobunaga’s son’s residence and dueled the Akechi.It’s real. Cope harder. — Tre Watson 🎸🎤🎧 (@TreWatsonMusic)
Others accused the fans who were criticizing the game of racism, pointing out that Yasuke is a historical figure.
“With the new Assassin’s Creed game main character being black, the racists are just out,” .
“Kinda crazy how nobody cared about Assassin’s Creed consistently exaggerating or fictionalising history until they decided to have a black samurai based on Yasuke…” .
Yasuke has also been included as a character in other video games, including Japanese-developed games Samurai Warriors 5 and Nioh.
— Stop That. @stopthatgirl7@famichiki.jp (@stopthatgirl7)
TIME has reached out to Ubisoft and Ubisoft Quebec, the developer for the game, for comment on the controversy.
On its website, Ubisoft said that creators in the game because they wanted a samurai character whose story was “open-ended enough to allow for creativity,” adding that “there are still plenty of questions and speculation surrounding” Yasuke.
“He also offers a unique perspective on the period: players can discover Japan alongside him,” Ubisoft said on its website.