The portrayal of a real-life religious shrine in Assassin's Creed Shadows has prompted officials at the shrine's real-world counterpart to take "action", according to a new report.
Per Japanese platform Sankei News (via Automaton Media), officials at the Itate Hyozu Shrine, which is located in the Hyogo Prefecture and which can be visited in Assassin's Creed Shadows' historical representation of Japan, are taking "appropriate action" over the shrine's depiction in the game.
Specifically, the officials appear to be taking umbrage at the fact that it's possible not only to visit the shrine in Assassin's Creed Shadows, but also to destroy parts of said shrine, "including its altar and sacred objects" (as Automaton puts it).
As Automaton points out, the shrine's destruction isn't part of the game's main quest, and it also hasn't been used for Assassin's Creed Shadows' promotional cycle, but that hasn't stopped some calling the very ability to destroy the shrine disrespectful.
Sankei News reports that shrine officials said they "would have refused" if Ubisoft had contacted them for official approval to include the shrine in the game, but that they were not approached by the studio.
It's not exactly clear what the Itate Hyozu shrine officials mean by "appropriate action"; that phrase is ambiguous, and it could mean anything from legal action through to simply requesting the shrine be removed from the game and anything in between.
In any case, it's far from the first time Assassin's Creed Shadows has gotten into trouble regarding its historical accuracy or reverence for Japan. Back in July, the company apologized after including a Japanese re-enactment group's flag in a book of concept art without the group's permission.
There's also an ongoing controversy surrounding protagonist Yasuke, who's depicted in the game as a samurai, a classification that some folks are disputing from a historical perspective (although I rather suspect there's an unpleasant ulterior motive to that argument in many cases).
Figurine company PureArts also issued an apology in October after pulling an "insensitive" figurine from sale. The figurine in question depicted a one-pillared Torii gate, a symbol that can famously be found at the Nagasaki Sanno shrine, which stands as a memorial to the devastation caused by the atomic bomb.
Ubisoft will be banking on the success of Assassin's Creed Shadows after what has been a rough year for the company. Flops like Skull and Bones and Star Wars Outlaws, as well as repeated delays to Shadows itself, mean the game is carrying rather a lot on its back.
If Ubisoft itself is to be believed, however, pre-orders for the game are "solid", so the company may well have another big hit on its hands come March, when Assassin's Creed Shadows is due to launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. You can check out our preview here.
