Overview

AC Shadows "Gay Black Samurai" Debate, also known as Assassin's Creed: Shadows LGBTQ+ Protagonists Debate, refers to backlash and discourse targeted at Yasuke, one of the protagonists in the 2025 Assassin's Creed: Shadows (AC Shadows) video game by Ubisoft who is a Black samurai that can explore same-sex relationships with both men and non-binary characters. Ubisoft developers had previously hinted in May 2024 that Naoe and Yasuke could be played as LGBTQ+ characters. However, after the game's official release in March 2025, the protagonist's trait was labeled "historically inaccurate," as Yasuke is based on the real story of the only African and first non-Japanese samurai, especially regarding his sexuality, which received backlash on Twitter / X, Reddit and YouTube, among other platforms, as some gamers called it a DEI character, deeming him too "woke."

Background

Rumors about Assassin's Creed: Shadows protagonist Yasuke being LGBTQ+ started on May 22nd, 2024, as shared by the X page @TPPNewsNetwork,^[1] which wrote "Ubisoft Appears To Confirm ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Protagonists Yasuke And Naoe Are LGBTQ+." The post (seen below) amassed more than 1.5 million views and 4,000 likes in a year.

On July 18th, 2024, X^[2] user @Grummz posted one of the earliest viral mentions of Yasuke as a "gay Black samurai" while commenting on a news article related to same-sex romance options in AC Shadows. The tweet (seen below) received over 194,000 views and 9,200 likes in a year.

Online Reactions

Debate on social media regarding Yasuke as a "woke" and historically inaccurate character quickly ensued as AC Shadows was released in mid-March 2025 and discourse surrounding him spread online.

For instance, on March 20th, 2025, YouTuber^[3] Mr H Reviews uploaded a video criticizing the game, writing in the description that "Everyone is GAY in Assassin's Creed Shadows!" The video (seen below) amassed more than 31,000 views and 2,200 likes in a day.

On March 20th, 2025, Twitch streamer Fightincowboy replied to chatter comments and complaints about AC Shadows' main character, Yasuke, during his livestream. X^[5] user @CurtThe_Gamer posted a clip of the moment the content creator said, "I don’t give a fuck what your opinion is of this game. I don’t care. Your opinion is worthless to me. The quality of health of my morning shit had a bigger impact on my thought process today than you being upset that there’s a Black guy in Assassin’s Creed." The video (seen below) amassed more than 1.5 million views and 35,000 likes in a day.

On March 19th, 2025, Redditor^[6] u/myrmonden uploaded a YouTube video titled "Worst Gaming Romance in History" to the subreddit /r/fuckubisoft, calling Yasuke the "Legendary GAY Trans Black Samurai." The post (seen below) received roughly 140 upvotes and 50 comments in two days.

Japanese PM Comments

On March 18th, 2025, a series of misleading posts were shared on X about Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's views on Assassin's Creed Shadows, suggesting he was referring to "woke" content featured in the game.

For instance, X^[4] user @Arin_Yumi shared a picture of Ishiba and a promotional image of AC Shadows' Yasuke, writing that the PM "will not remain silent" on the Assassin's Creed: Shadows controversy. The post, however, did not mention Ishiba's full quote in which he denounced the game for claiming it could encourage real-life vandalism of shrines since the game shows a character destroying a Shinto shrine without permission. The post (seen below) amassed more than 4 million views and 55,000 likes in three days.

On March 20th, YouTuber SomeOrdinaryGamers covered the Japanese government's mention of AC Shadows in a video titled "The Japanese Government Mentioned Assassin's Creed Shadows," receiving over 140,000 views, 6,400 likes and 2,000 comments in 15 hours (shown below).

Related Events

Yasuke Non-Binary Love Interest Controversy

Assassin's Creed: Shadows Non-Binary Love Interest Controversy, also known as Yasuke's Non-Binary Love Interest, refers to backlash and discourse targeted at Ibuki, a character in the 2025 Assassin's Creed: Shadows (AC Shadows) video game by Ubisoft who identifies as non-binary, a person who feels their gender cannot be defined within the margins of the gender binary (he/she). Comments and discussions about the implementation of the LGBTQ+ character as Yasuke's love interest was popularized as soon as the game was released in mid-March 2025 across YouTube, Twitter / X, and Reddit, with some calling the game "woke" while others defended it amid the backlash.

Search Interest

External References