Ubisoft announced today that it won't participate in any presence at this year's Tokyo Game Show. In a message posted on its Japanese account on X, the company said that "due to various circumstances" it was canceling its previously planned online exhibit for the event.
The company did not explained what was behind the scrapping of its participation in the Tokyo Game Show. But the cancelation also comes amid criticism of its new title, Assassin's Creed Shadows. Shadows has been set in 16th century Japan and there have been complaints that it is inaccurate in representing Japanese history and culture.
Controversies also erupted over the ad display for the game. Many attacked the use of Chinese iconography and representation of a historical black samurai named Yasuke as distorting truth. Despite that, the company says the ongoing commemorative giveaway for Tokyo Game Show will go on as planned.
Ubisoft Japan's statement on X (translated from Japanese);
Dear community Regarding our online exhibit at "TOKYO GAME SHOW 2024", scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. on September 26th, we regret to inform you that due to various circumstances, we have decided to cancel our exhibit.
The currently ongoing giveaway campaign to commemorate the official release will continue. We apologize for the short notice. We sincerely apologize to everyone who was looking forward to the release
The lack of a Tokyo Game Show presentation is surprising in a way that raises some questions regarding Ubisoft's strategy concerning Shadows in Japan. Circumstances were not mentioned, but that would be a decision indicating that the publisher wanted to avoid possible backlash at such a high-profile event.
In other news, Microsoft announced its appearance in Tokyo Game Show and stated that the date would indeed be September 26. The stream will include some new games coming from studios under the Microsoft umbrella, such as Xbox Game Studios, Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and even Bethesda.
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