Assassin’s Creed Shadows Divides Fans After New Footage Goes Viral

Since the reveal of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, it has been engulfed in controversy. In fact, it was quickly engulfed by the ongoing and growing culture war in gaming. The points of contention with the new Assassin’s Creed game have been many, and the latest involves some new gameplay footage that has been going viral. More specifically the footage has amassed over 20 million views in 24 hours. And it has not amassed this many views because it is blowing away fans or due to a comedic moment, but in the spirit of Assassin’s Creed Shadows so far, because it is stirring up division.

The footage shows one of the game’s two protagonists setting waste to a religious site in the game, which is set in Japan, for those out of the loop. And some have taken umbrage with this.

Of course, religion and cultural heritage are sensitive subjects, though a part of most Assassin’s Creed games. In other words, this footage — which can be seen here — isn’t all that surprising, but it is nonetheless not sitting well with some.

Others have defended the content of footage though, noting this is nothing new for Assassin’s Creed or video games in general. To this end, one commenter references how in Assassin’s Creed 2 one of the antagonists of the story, who you end up taking down, is a literal Pope. Meanwhile, another commenter points out how in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla players can pillage monasteries and slay Monks in the process.

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Regardless of which side is right and which is wrong, the point remains that Assassin’s Creed Shadows once again finds itself in the headlines and getting attention for all of the wrong reasons. Some say all press is good press, but that has not been the case for other games engulfed in the developing culture war in gaming so far.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to release worldwide on March 20, 2025 via PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. For more on the upcoming Ubisoft game — including all of the latest Assassin’s Creed Shadows news, all of the latest Assassin’s Creed Shadows rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Assassin’s Creed Shadows speculation — click here.