Video game maker Ubisoft in chaos after anti-DEI backlash

On September 24, Ubisoft abruptly canceled its appearance at the Tokyo Game Show and postponed all press previews of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Wednesday, we learned why. Anti-DEI backlash has sent the company spinning.

The Paris-based video game publisher pushed the release of its biggest game of the year from November 12 to February 14 of next year—and warned investors that net bookings would no longer exceed the 2.3 billion euros of last year, but come in at a disappointing 1.95 billion euros. That sent shares lower Thursday, continuing a rough year for the company (UBI.PA). Year to date, shares are down 57%, which has stirred up some activist investors to call for a sale.  

The bookings’ shortfall was, technically, due to the delay and disappointing sales of Star Wars: Outlaws. However, the underlying reason for both of those, at least in part, is the far-right opposition to diversity and inclusion.

Outlaws, which has a female lead character, received mostly solid reviews from professional critics; but many players gave it a zero rating out of 10 on Metacritic, citing “forced DEI narratives” and claiming the developers “spent more time on the woke culture than on the story and gameplay.” Some players were also unhappy with the optional season pass model that tacked an additional $40 onto the game’s price for extra missions. (The season pass/downloadable content model has been a popular one in the industry for many publishers, and is used in Fortnite and Dark Souls 3.) 

That review bombing, driven by anti-DEI backlash, seemingly worked—and set off a chain of events that led to Wednesday’s announcement.

“We believe Star Wars Outlaws was impacted by a coordinated effort that sought to troll Ubisoft games specifically and Star Wars content in general,” wrote Michael Pachter of Wedbush in an analyst’s note. “This is a case of a rare incel victory that led to Ubisoft having to take down its numbers.”

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot addressed the controversy directly in announcing the revised guidance.

“Let me address some of the polarized comments around Ubisoft lately,” he wrote. “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.”

That’s unlikely to quiet far-right critics. In fact, the delay of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which was already under fire by that group for having a female ninja and a Black samurai as lead characters in a game set in feudal Japan, could embolden detractors. GamerGate-friendly forums on Reddit are already celebrating the announcement and taking a victory lap, with a few racist comments thrown in.

But gameplay mechanics weren’t what caused the prerelease backlash of Shadows. As far back as July, the development team has found itself on the defensive for its choice to include a Black protagonist in the game. (That character, Yasuke, is based on an actual Black samurai from the 16^th century.)

“While we strive for authenticity in everything that we do, Assassin’s Creed games are works of fiction inspired by real historical events and figures,” the development team wrote in July. “From its inception, the series has taken creative license and incorporated fantasy elements to craft engaging and immersive experiences. The representation of Yasuke in our game is an illustration of this. His unique and mysterious life made him an ideal candidate to tell an Assassin’s Creed story with the setting of feudal Japan as a backdrop.”

Despite the anti-DEI backlash, Ubisoft doesn’t seem like it’s making radical changes to the next Assassin’s Creed. The company, in its announcement Wednesday, vowed to “[fulfill] the promise of our dual-protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two very different gameplay styles.” To boost sales, the company said it would give anyone who preorders the game the first expansion for free.

Pachter said he still expects the game to sell more than 7 million copies, adding “this game has the potential to be one of Ubisoft’s bestsellers ever.”

That might not be enough for some investors. Reuters, on Thursday, reported an activist investor, pushing for the sale of Ubisoft to a third-party or private equity investors, claimed to have the support of 10% of the company’s shareholders. 

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