For years the Assassin’s Creed franchise has pulled players through meticulously researched slices of human history. From Renaissance Italy to revolutionary America, the games have revealed in political intrigue and cultural conflict. That’s what made the news this month so baffling: Game File reporter Stephen Totilo revealed that Ubisoft quietly cancelled an entry code-named Project Scarlet, which would have been set in the Reconstruction-era United States and starred a formerly enslaved Black assassin fighting against the rise of the Ku Klux Klan (Liputan6). According to multiple sources, leadership at Ubisoft in Paris decided the game was “too political” for an unstable U.S. climate and feared blow back similar to the online criticism over Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Black samurai protagonist, Yasuke.
The idea that you can’t have a fictional assassin take on one of the most infamous hate groups in American history because it might offend racists is, frankly, absurd. It betrays a misunderstanding of the Klan’s historical role and a timidity that feels out of step with the medium’s history. That’s not just sentiment from journalists; social media erupted with disbelief when the cancellation leaked. One popular post summed up the reaction: “They cancelled the coolest f***** video game ever because our current ‘political climate’ would cause backlash for a game about killing… racist terrorists”* (Newsweek). Another asked the obvious question: “Who exactly is offended at this?”
A Vetted Concept Scrapped out of Fear
According to reports, the scrapped game was being developed by Ubisoft Quebec and would have followed a man who escaped slavery, headed west and was later recruited into the Brotherhood (Consequence). The assassin would return to the post-Civil War South to fight for justice and confront the emergence of the KKK. Sources told Insider Gaming that the project, internally known as Project Scarlet, aimed to release around 2028 and had the full support of its development team. But as political polarization intensified in America, executives reportedly worried the narrative would be deemed “too political in a country too unstable” and shelved it.
Part of that anxiety stems from the backlash to Assassin’s Creed Shadows – a game set in feudal Japan that features Yasuke, a Black samurai. The reveal led to the usual online grumbling about “wokeness,” prompting CEO Yves Guillemot to insist that Ubisoft’s goal is “not to push any specific agenda” (Liputan6). In such a cautious climate, management evidently concluded that making a game in which you fight the KKK was a step too far.
The KKK Is Not a Protected Class
To appreciate how misguided this decision is, it helps to remember what the Ku Klux Klan actually is. The Klan was founded in 1865, grew into a violent white-supremacist movement and “waged an underground campaign of intimidation and violence” across the South to overturn Reconstruction and restore white dominance (History.com). By the early 20th century, its members burned crosses and staged rallies denouncing immigrants, Jews, Catholics and African-Americans. In other words, they are historical villains. There is no “neutral” way to portray the Klan without sanitizing its terrorism, and there is certainly no reason to protect their feelings in a fictional depiction.
Yet Ubisoft’s fear of offending white supremacists appears to have outweighed its commitment to history. Sources told Consequence that management didn’t want to risk a “political” controversy- even though the series has long dealt with political subject matter. That rationale places the feelings of racists above the creative potential of a story about a Black hero challenging oppression.
Games Have Been Beating Up Klansmen for Years
The strangest part of Ubisoft’s timidity is that video games have already let players dismantle the KKK, and players and critics largely applauded those moments. In Mafia III (2016), biracial Vietnam veteran Lincoln Clay infiltrates an analogue of the Klan. Trailers for the game proudly showed Clay shooting up a Ku Klux Klan rally (Okayplayer). Outlets like Okayplayer noted how refreshing it was to see a mainstream game take on such a group and contextualize it within 1968’s racial turmoil. Another report documented how racists online were outraged that players could kill Klansmen, while gamers were largely enthusiastic about the chance (8Bit/Digi). Despite the outcry from bigots, 2K and developer Hangar 13 never considered canceling the game; they released it to critical praise for its unflinching portrayal of racism.
Rockstar’s western opus Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) goes further, treating the Klan as bumbling fools and giving players tacit approval to eradicate them. Guides explain that there are three random encounters where the Klan stages night-time rallies or botches cross-burnings (Red Dead Wiki). After these scenes play out, players are free to wipe out the hooded racists without taking a hit to their honor (GameRevolution). Inverse even noted that killing Klansmen is one of the few times in the game where there’s “pretty much no downside.” Rockstar didn’t shy away from including the Klan; it made their presence an optional encounter that reinforces the player character’s disgust.
A Missed Opportunity for Meaningful Storytelling
Assassin’s Creed has always been a franchise about resistance. From Ezio fighting Templars in Renaissance Italy to Bayek pushing back against oppression in Ptolemaic Egypt, political conflict is baked into the series. A Reconstruction-era entry focusing on a Black assassin would have continued that tradition while spotlighting an often neglected chapter of American history. It could have explored the harsh realities freed people faced after emancipation- systemic violence, broken promises and the birth of Jim Crow, and given players agency to fight back against an organisation that terrorised Black communities (History.com).
The cancellation also sends a chilling message about who is allowed to be a protagonist. Project Scarlet would have starred a formerly enslaved man who reclaims his destiny, travels west and then returns to confront his oppressors (Consequence). That’s a powerful arc rarely seen in blockbuster games. Instead, Ubisoft chose to avoid a potential backlash, reinforcing the notion that centring Black heroes in stories about racism is “too political.”
The Absurdity of Protecting Racists
The backlash to the cancellation points to a wider issue: an industry that pays lip service to diversity yet balks when faced with the opportunity to meaningfully engage with history. Critics of Ubisoft’s decision aren’t asking for propaganda; they’re asking for the freedom to punch Nazis and Klansmen in a fictional setting without executives worrying about the feelings of extremists.
Public reactions highlight how out-of-touch the cancellation appears. Posts on X and Threads racked up millions of views within hours; one viral post asked why Ubisoft would “offend racists” when games like Mafia III and Red Dead Redemption 2 have been letting players fight them for years (Newsweek). Another argued that “the KKK and slavery were bad” should not be controversial. When your audience is literally begging you to let them beat up Klansmen, scrapping the concept looks more like corporate cowardice than sensitivity.
Ubisoft has not publicly responded to the reports, and it may never confirm that Project Scarlet existed. But the episode underscores a pattern: major publishers often flinch at subject matter that acknowledges racism, even when history and fan enthusiasm are on their side. Games are uniquely capable of immersing us in the past and letting us confront its horrors; sanitising that history because it might offend racists is an abdication of that potential.
Something For The Road
Video games have matured into a medium capable of tackling complex social issues. When Ubisoft cancels a game because it might upset white supremacists, it fails both history and its players. The Ku Klux Klan’s legacy of terror isn’t open to interpretation, it’s a documented campaign of intimidation and violence (History.com). Other developers have already shown that confronting such groups can make for compelling, cathartic game-play (Red Dead Wiki), and players have embraced these stories.
As a critic and a lifelong gamer, I hope more studios take risks like Project Scarlet rather than retreating into safe, apolitical fantasies. Because if punching Nazis and Klansmen in a game is “too political,” then perhaps it’s the industry, not the audience, that needs to rethink its priorities.
