Ubisoft's Apology For Assassin's Creed Shadows Gets More Complicated

Ubisoft is showing its shady side once again, as new images from "Assassin's Creed Shadows" have shown off a flag that was instantly familiar to some fans. It turns out that Ubisoft somehow incorporated the flag of a real historical reenactment group into its upcoming game, and the group isn't all that happy with how the company has handled the situation.

Sekigahara Teppo-tai is a volunteer group that does performances based on the feudal period of Japanese history, which also inspired the story of "Assassin's Creed Shadows." Every "Assassin's Creed" game uses historical imagery to create a fully-realized time period, but the Sekigahara Teppo-tai flag is the group's own original piece of art. One of the group's members posted an image of the Sekigahara Teppo-tai flag after fans spotting it in some concept art for the new "Assassin's Creed."

2019年10月27日に鹿児島県の妙円寺詣りの時に撮った写真から切り抜きですがアップさせて頂きます pic.twitter.com/Ccw0g21nHH

— 影山＠関ケ原鉄砲隊 (@matchlock_kage) June 17, 2024

Sekigahara Teppo-tai accused Ubisoft of using its flag in the game without permission, and according to a statement given to PC Gamer, the company has issued an apology to the group. A spokesperson for Ubisoft said, "We have received complaints that the Sekigahara Teppotai's flag was used without permission in two published pieces of concept art. We had the opportunity to apologize to the group, and they accepted our apology." Ubisoft may have reached out, but it seems the issue hasn't been entirely resolved just yet.

In Ubisoft's apology, the company's representative said, "The art will no longer be used or distributed, except for inclusion in the art book that comes with the collector's edition." It turns out that the physical art book for "Assassin's Creed Shadows" has already been printed, and that doesn't sit well with the members of Sekigahara Teppo-tai. In light of this news, a Sekigahara Teppo-tai member made another post on X (formerly Twitter). According to IGN's translation, the group member said, "We have asked Ubisoft to remove the image from the Collector's Edition art book. I'm not sure if this will be possible but I've contacted Ubisoft through their support."

In all likelihood, it's probably too late for Ubisoft to do anything about the Sekigahara Teppo-tai flag appearing in the art book (short of shredding every copy and printing new ones), but maybe the company will find a way to properly credit the group for the design. It's still unclear how this mistake happened, but Ubisoft is far from the only company to make this kind of artistic faux pas. Just weeks before Ubisoft's mistake, the "War Thunder" team had to apologize for using an image of a real disaster in a piece of loading screen art.