Ubisoft has made an enormous collaboration announcement that stirred up the whole gaming world, and not everyone is satisfied with it. The official account of Assassin’s Creed revealed a new partnership with the Venum brand, which specializes in fighting gear, on Twitter. In addition to that, the company presented the “Venum × Assassin’s Creed Shadows 2.0” collection to the public. Their Twitter message said “Train like a warrior. Move like an Assassin,” which was pretty much a hint of the new gear that was just launched on their site. The gaming community, however, regarding the collaboration, gave such mixed reactions, to put it mildly, that it included some hidden blades as well as full chaos.
But what about the new stuff? Honestly, it’s a new line of clothing that takes inspiration from the top game, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which will be set in Japan’s feudal times. The goal is to visually bring a historical character to life and give him the best features as well as the best training outfit. You know, for the times when you want to be inconspicuous while doing your… whatever it is you do. But the players did not wait long to start taking it apart. A user by the name of J_Abys succinctly remarked, “How to fuck up a tshirt with the front logo lmfao.” That really hurts. This is definitely not the kind of stealth criticism you would like to receive.
Besides, the story didn’t stop there. The comments section of the post was practically transformed into a huge pile of grievances. Some were about the actual design of the merchandise, and some even claimed that it involved “stolen art” and “Chinese typography” on the apparel. It was user HappyChubbyBear who questioned, “Stolen art again? Or is it Chinese typography,” when scary_mrjo stepped in and just bluntly said, “Another stolen art?” Ubisoft has been accused of such practices before, and it looks like the community’s memories of the company’s creative integrity are quite long.
Now, wait, bad t-shirt design Black is not the only thing that the new Assassin’s Creed merchandise has to offer… The cultural elements of the game’s main character and the marketing of the resulting war are the major reasons for the infamous backlash. A user ZimniyVolk simply said, “That’s disgusting. The black man wearing the Japanese shirt, I mean.” Furthermore, the whole matter leads to the ongoing debate, which the gaming community views as the protagonist black Samurai Yasuke being a historical figure, thus Ubisoft, the game company, and the players being able to react in this way and giving comments like “Why @Ubisoft resonates blacks so much?” from kneelbeforedod1. Another user, who was very critical of the company, said it was “as soft as baby shit” and accused it of having “no backbone whatsoever.” It is indeed a very controversial topic, and this merch release has sent the issue smoke signals.
However, on the other hand, some gamers are vicariously living the battle through the comments and just wishing for a different time. One gamer, granddameswig, pleaded, “Give us the post-civil war assassins creed,” although it seems like Ubisoft is moving away from one historical period, a part of the fanbase still wants a different time setting—stuck in the past. Then come the ‘good old’ bug complaints with liuzhuangqi stating, “Can’t find bo disciple custom in PS5. That’s another great bug.” What is the point of a modern game release if there are no technical glitches, right?
Ubisoft has a mixed bag of goodies and baddies. They are using a clothing collaboration to create hype around a new game, but the community response has been like a masterclass in parkour—criticism has been leaping from one to another. The social media team for Assassin’s Creed is probably feeling like they just got the attention of a whole army of guards because of the quality issue with the merch, and the intense debates regarding the cultural issues around the game’s core concept. Not exactly the quiet, smooth promotion they would have liked.
Moreover, we can’t just dismiss a random guy, Injirleefe, who claims to be “a guy who knows a thing or two about venom and also like venom kit.” Really? Nice story, dude. He is just the epitome of that chaotic energy which makes gaming Twitter so… unique.
Finally, what is left to see? The Venum partnership is launched, the goods are ready for sale, and yet the gamers’ reception is colder than a winter in Norway. This collaboration is in the process of going uphill and encountering issues from artwork theft allegations, escalating cultural debates, and the customers being just uninterested in the product. A big portion of gamers seems to be wanting to return to the franchise’s basics and a user, deyyluvvme6, has summed it all up in just two words “make ac great again.” Whether the new gear and the upcoming game could accomplish that is still an open question. Meanwhile, the only thing that is evolving is the battle in the comment section.
