Former Ubisoft Designer Addresses Misconceptions Surrounding Online Theories

A former developer from Ubisoft has responded to the “online conspiracy theories” that attribute the company’s declining stock value and game development issues to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Instead, he argues that the real culprit is what he calls “Big Business Syndrome.”

Kensuke Shimoda, who previously worked as a game designer at Ubisoft Osaka, voiced his concerns in response to a comic by manga artist Sadataro, which linked the sales performance of Assassin’s Creed Shadows to Ubisoft’s DEI initiatives. For context, Ubisoft has indicated that Assassin’s Creed Shadows “performed within expectations,” boasting over 5 million players as of July 2025.

Since Shadows introduced an African samurai as one of its main characters, it has faced backlash from anti-woke critics, including notable figures like Elon Musk, who was later called out by the official Assassin’s Creed Twitter account. Some of these critics now claim that Ubisoft’s financial struggles validate their opposition to diversity and inclusion in gaming.

Shimoda firmly stated that Ubisoft’s DEI initiatives “didn’t wield that much influence” and were, in fact, “actually beneficial” for expanding the company’s reach in South America and the Middle East.

His remarks about Ubisoft’s “excessively low turnover rate” and the “lack of senior/lead-level staff with experience” suggest that he places the blame on the publisher’s upper management, particularly in light of his reference to “Big Business Syndrome.”

This term was coined by Kazuma Tateisi, the former president of Japanese electronics manufacturer OMRON, in 1987. Tateisi observed that the profits of several major Japanese companies began to decline when their leaders became overly focused on maintaining the status quo. He cautioned OMRON employees that avoiding the riskier strategies that had initially driven their success, while still trying to grow, would lead them to the same fate as their peers.

Shimoda contends that Ubisoft has fallen victim to this same mindset. On January 21, the company announced a significant restructuring, which included the cancellation of “4 unannounced titles, including 3 new IPs,” and the establishment of “Five Creative Houses” dedicated to developing games based on existing franchises. However, some current employees feel that this latest reset is merely a repetition of past mistakes.