Last week, Ubisoft caused a stir when it issued a vaguely worded apology for “certain elements” in Assassin's Creed Shadows promotional materials that had “caused concern” among some fans.
Fans widely attributed the statement as a reference to the ongoing backlash over the game's inclusion of the historical figure Yasuke as a black samurai and his protagonist double. Moderators on the main Assassin's Creed reddit this week described the topic as a “boring discussion” that Ubisoft's statement had only “exacerbated.”
Conversely, Ubisoft creative director Julian Gerighty has now acknowledged the online criticism of Star Wars Outlaws – particularly the aesthetic of lead character Kay Vess – saying that the “bad faith” debates are “not worth engaging in”.
“Kay is supposed to be accessible, a little thief who ends up making her way through this story, making bad decisions, and it's got a lot of humor and humility and toughness. That's what's important to me. And she's beautiful, come on,” Gerighty told The Washington Post, referring to a narrative pushed by some on YouTube and social media that women in video games were no longer “attractive enough.”
“It makes no sense to me,” Gerighty continued, “and it’s not worth engaging in. If you engage with people in bad faith, there’s no nuance and no chance for real dialogue. So all we can do is make the best game we can.”
Star Wars Outlaws, developed by The Division studio Massive Entertainment, is now less than a month away from launch. Set during The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, it features open-world action with a story centered around the troubles of Kay Vess, a Han Solo-esque scoundrel.
Gerighty leads the project as creative director, having previously directed The Division 2, The Crew and served as associate producer on the Splinter Cell series.
“Despite being an obvious mashup of everything Ubisoft, Outlaws feels like a proper Star Wars adventure,” wrote our own Ian Higton this week after a lengthy hands-on with Star Wars Outlaws.
Last month, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot spoke out to condemn the “malicious and personal online attacks” directed at the Assassin’s Creed Shadows development team following the game’s reveal.
Assassin's Creed boss Marc-Alexis Coté also addressed the issue, sharing his reaction to a tweet from billionaire X-player and Tesla owner Elon Musk criticizing diversity in game design.