Assassin's Creed: Shadow has been plagued by controversy since its release, ranging from petitions to cancel the game to extreme fan revulsion. Recently, Yasuke's samurai identity has been the focus of controversy again, with reports that his entire story was fabricated by historian Thomas · Lockley.
Thomas · Lockley reportedly used his imagination to concoct information about Yasuke. Much of the character's information is taken directly from his biographical novel, African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan, published in 2019.
It is reported that Thomas · Locklifa is an associate professor at the Faculty of Law of Japan University. There has been recent evidence that he revised the wiki material on Yasuke several times before the publication of his biographical novel in order to gradually change people's perceptions of Yasuke. Then he quoted the content of these materials in his novels, and did a good job, which can be described as "quoting classics".
Before the publication of the book "Legendary Black Samurai Yasuke", Yasuke was unknown in Japan history. And now that the situation has escalated, many Japan media have claimed that there is no evidence that Yasuke is a samurai. And when people made accusations, Thomas · Lockley deleted all the wiki content and social accounts he had written for many years.
Thomas · Lockley later stated that he had nothing to do with the Assassin's Creed: Shadows game. But it was revealed that he had participated in the Ubisoft Podcast, suggesting that the Ubisoft team had consulted him about the Yasuke character.
Ubisoft is the biggest DEI supporter among triple-A gaming companies, and when they promote Assassin's Creed: Shadows, they constantly emphasize that Yasuke is a true samurai, which caters to a certain group of people, but also makes more players more and more disgusted.