Inside Ubisoft’s Decision to Scrap an Assassin’s Creed Game Set in Post-Civil War America

Ubisoft cancelled a major Assassin’s Creed title last summer, shelving a project that would have put players in the shoes of a Black man navigating post-Civil War America. The move wasn’t just creative. According to a new report from Game File, the decision was heavily influenced by political concerns, and some at the company aren’t happy about it.

Multiple current and former employees say Ubisoft pulled the plug amid fears that the project’s subject matter was too risky for the current US climate. The game would have tackled some of the darkest chapters in American history, directly confronting issues of race, justice, and the rise of groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

Why Ubisoft Walked Away

The game was set during the Reconstruction era of the 1860s and 1870s, just after the American Civil War. Players would have followed a Black protagonist who had escaped slavery in the South and moved west to start from scratch. Eventually, he’d be recruited by the Assassin Brotherhood, then drawn back into the South to fight for justice, including standing up to the Klan.

Five Ubisoft insiders told Game File that Paris-based management axed the project for two main reasons: the heated online backlash following the reveal of Yasuke (a Black samurai character) in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and unease about tackling such challenging subject matter in today’s America.

“They are making more and more decisions to maintain the political ‘status quo’ and take no stand, no risk, even creative,” one source admitted, expressing their disappointment but lack of surprise at the company’s leadership. The choice, employees said, wasn’t just about controversy; it reflected a larger trend inside Ubisoft to steer clear of stories that might spark debate or push against the norm.

This isn’t the first time Assassin’s Creed has brushed up against difficult history, but the idea of directly confronting post-war racism, the KKK, and the experience of Black Americans marked a new, untested direction for the franchise.

The Fallout and What’s Next for Ubisoft

This high-profile cancellation wasn’t the only shakeup inside Ubisoft. Last week, the company announced it had established a new Tencent-backed subsidiary. The unit, now officially named Vantage Studios, has begun operations under co-CEOs Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot.

The decision to shelve the Reconstruction-era Assassin’s Creed comes at a time of big changes for Ubisoft’s leadership and structure. It also follows a pattern of industry hesitation around games that address sensitive historical and political subjects directly.

Elsewhere, Ubisoft is moving forward with other projects. For example, the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake is reportedly set to add fresh RPG content and extra features. But the story of this cancelled entry highlights a growing reluctance inside one of gaming’s biggest studios to take narrative risks, especially as public and political scrutiny rises.

For now, fans will have to imagine what an Assassin’s Creed set during Reconstruction could have been. According to those who worked on the concept, it was a rare opportunity to explore a pivotal, and all-too-often ignored, chapter of history from a bold new perspective. Ubisoft decided the risks outweighed the rewards.