Twitch star Asmongold is accusing Ubisoft of “not caring” about Japanese culture amid allegations that Assassin’s Creed Shadows copied Zoro’s sword from One Piece.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been a controversial title since being announced, with some players taking issue with the portrayal of Yasuke and how Ubisoft is pricing the game.
In the lead-up to its release, Assassin’s Creed Shadows made an appearance at Japan Expo with an immersive experience containing artifacts and weapons, with one in particular sparking backlash.
Amazingly, fans were able to determine that parts of the exhibit were found on Amazon. In addition to a Geisha doll on display being featured on the online retailer’s website, one of the swords on display looked an awful lot like Zoro’s blade from One Piece.
During a Twitch stream, Asmongold pointed to this discovery, noting that the sword at Japan Expo featured the exact same symbols as Zoro’s weapon and that Ubisoft didn’t bother to change anything.
“I don’t think these people give a f**k about Japanese culture!” he exclaimed.
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“Ubisoft is trying to get social justice points and I think the amount of examples people have found out with it being inauthentic… for example, for [Yasuke’s] boss fight, they start playing hip hop music and then the experts they had were like f**king cuckoo crazy, then they have the sword for this guy and it’s from One Piece.”
The streamer continued, adding that while he doesn’t care about Assassin’s Creed games being historically accurate, he doesn’t like how Ubisoft has handled this title.
“The way that it’s presented feels fake,” he said. “And I’ve said this before, when this game comes out, Yasuke will not even be in the top ten problems with this game.”
AC Shadows is currently set to release on November 15, 2024, so Ubisoft will have plenty of time to address the sword backlash. At the time of writing, the company has yet to make a statement.