Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis one of the latest examples of how backlash over a video game can spiral out of control and cross the line into online harassment. Previously,Assassin’s Creeddeveloper Ubisoft got some flak for releasing a statement about the game that seemed more concerned with appeasing its most vocal critics than addressing some of the more troublesome elements of the backlash. However, it seems that, internally, the company is taking the threat of harassment very seriously, and has outlined a plan for helping its employees deal with it.
It’s refreshing to see Ubisoft taking theAssassin’s Creed Shadowsbacklashseriously, and taking steps to protect the developers who worked on it. Sadly, the topic of harassment is something that has been plaguing the video game industry and the media surrounding it for years. Hopefully, Ubisoft can set a strong example for other developers to help push back against this wave of toxicity that has remained largely unchallenged in recent years.
Ubisoft Has Created A Plan To Protect AC Shadows Developers
Ubisoft Employees Have Been Given Guidance And Resources For Handling Harassment
According to French outletBFMTV,Ubisoft has taken several concrete steps to help protect employees from harassment. This includes advising employees on the use of social media, as well as reportedly collaborating with Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) to monitor reactions to the game’s release and even offering legal resources in the case of proven harassment. According to a Ubisoft employee speaking toBFMTV, they have been advised not to share online that they work for Ubisoft to help avoid any unwanted attention. This report has been largely corroborated by Ubisoft itself.
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Speaking toPCGamesN,a representative from Ubisoft said the company offers guidance to employees regarding social mediaand digital safety. While they didn’t specifically name the CSE, the spokesperson did confirm that they share external resources with employees to help “prevent and protect against online harassment.” This confirms that Ubisoft takes threats of harassment seriously and is taking steps to help prevent it.
It’s worth mentioning that, while Ubisoft’s plan is ultimately a good thing, it seems somewhat imperfect. We’ve seen plenty of examples, like the recentWB Games closures, where being a game developer can be a somewhat insecure position. While hopefully Ubisoft employees don’t have to look for new jobs any time soon, if they do, then not being able to post their accomplishments at work on social media for fear of harassment could hinder their future prospects. Still,Ubisoft’s efforts are better than doing nothing in the current landscape.
AC Shadows Isn’t The First Game To Be Met With Online Harassment
Games Like The Last Of Us Part 2 And Star Wars Outlaws Also Received Backlash Online
Not that there should have to be precedence for companies to protect their employees from harassment, butAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis far from unique when it comes to experiencing this type of backlash. Previously, reactions toThe Last of Us Part 2spawned a similarly large-scale harassment campaign that targetedAbby’s voice actor, Laura Bailey. According toDeadline, even years later, Kaitlyn Dever reportedly needed extra security on the set of theLast of UsTV series due to fears that this targeted harassment could kick back up again and target Abby’s new actor.
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More recently,Ubisoft faced online backlash overStar Wars Outlawsas some players had issues with lead character Kay Vess' appearance. It’s possible this recent experience, in tandem with the extreme backlash to the inclusion of historical African samurai Yasuke inAssassin’s Creed Shadows,led Ubisoft to start working on its anti-harassment plan. And, as anyone who follows gaming probably knows, this style of harassment campaign is not just limited to AAA game developers.
Gamergate And Similar Harassment Campaigns Have Plagued Gaming For Years
Back in 2014,the targeted harassment campaign Gamergate began, initially targeting indie developer Zoë Quinn, who discussed the event with theBBC. The campaign grew and began targeting additional figures related to gaming, like critic Anita Sarkeesian and developer Brianna Wu. Although the initial wave of Gamergate has since died down, its ripples remain a part of the gaming community.
Taylor Lorenz recently spoke to fellow journalist Alyssa Mercante onYouTubeabout more recent instances of targeted harassment that echo back to the original Gamergate. Mercante has similarly experienced targeted harassment over opinions she shared about video games while working for several online publications. She and Lorenz discussed how these campaigns often set out with the goal of silencing viewpoints they dislike, and often face little consequences for their harassment.
Although not on the same scale, I’ve experienced some of this myself since I’ve started writing about video games online. Simply mentioning that I thought two male characters in a video game had romantic chemistry led to me receiving threats of bodily harm, slurs aimed at my sexuality, and direct messages informing me that people knew where I previously lived. While frightening and stressful,this was only a minuscule fraction of the type of harassment levied at people like Mercante, Quinn, and Sarkeesian.
Ubisoft’s Actions Could Help Curb These Issues
Creating Consequences For Harassment Could Help Stop It
Hopefully, Ubisoft’s efforts to take a stand against harassment, and the fact that outlets are reporting on it, can start to curb some of the rampant toxicity in the gaming community. There are a lot of wonderful, creative, and kind people working on and talking about video games, and it would be great if that could be what people think about people who play video games.If the CSE is truly providing legal resources to combat harassment, we could be on our way.
Members of harassment campaigns like Gamergate have largely been able to avoid any serious consequencesfor their actions. If a precedent is set that this type of harassment will not be tolerated, perhaps these types of coordinated campaigns could become a thing of the past. We will also have to wait and see if any other major video game companies develop their own ways of combating harassment, though these may exist internally already.
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In an ideal scenario,Assassin’s Creed Shadowswill be released and no Ubisoft employees will become the targets of harassment because of it. However, if this does happen, it’s good to know that the company at least has some plans in place to help combat it. If successful, perhaps we could move towards a gaming landscape where disliking a game causes nothing more than good-faith criticism, as opposed to large-scale personal attacks against developers or journalists.
Sources:BFMTV,PCGamesN,Deadline,BBC,Taylor Lorenz/YouTube
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Set during Japan’s Sengoku period, two distinct protagonists—Naoe, a shinobi, and Yasuke, a historical African samurai—must navigate political intrigue and violent clashes between the Assassins and Templars. Players can switch between stealthy, shadow-based gameplay with Naoe and Yasuke’s direct combat approach, exploring the duality of their missions in a beautifully rendered open world.
