It really feels like Ubisoft is incapable of going two weeks without generating some sort of new controversy. Barely a month ago, it drew ire for its mobile title Tom Clancy's Elite Squad, where its main antagonist organization was depicted with a logo almost identical to the one used for the Black Lives Matter movement. And more recently, it has issued an apology after it was criticized for releasing a new promotional ad for the Assassin's Creed series.
As a quick update for those who may have missed it, said advertisement was a short video that was meant to celebrate the series' iconic hidden blade and the protagonists that have wielded it. However, it only featured footage of male protagonists from the Assassin's Creed series, with none of the female leads present. Not even Eivor, the protagonist of the soon-to-be released Assassin's Creed Valhalla, made an appearance.
Barely a day after complaints about the lack of any women in the promo, Ubisoft uploaded a new version of the video to include all of the characters that have used the hidden blade, like the aforementioned Eivor, Evie Frye from Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and even Shao Jun from the short film Assassin's Creed: Embers, alongside a brief apology.
While some may find the backlash to be an overreaction to an otherwise minor mistake, one needs to remember that the company has come under fire for its treatment towards women numerous times in the past. This year alone, Ubisoft has been hit with accusations of sexual harassment and abuse that has since led to several high-ranking employees either leaving or being fired, including the director of Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
The Assassin's Creed series itself is believed to have a serious issue regarding its inclusion and depiction of women characters. For example, Assassin's Creed Odyssey was apparently meant to only star a women playable character, but a male option was added because Ubisoft's creative lead said "women don't sell."
Some may also find Ubisoft's apology to be rather hollow considering, despite claiming to take measures to prevent sexual harassment and abuse within the company, with CEO Yves Guillemot acknowledging the controversies and allegations in a short video, it appears to be doing very little about it, or at least not as much as people hoped or expected.
Neither of its Ubisoft Forward presentations addressed the issues either, which in turn led to more complaints and accusations that Ubisoft is trying to distract audiences with new game announcements, like the Prince of Persia remake and re-release of the Scott Pilgrim vs the World game.