Is Ubisoft Pandering to Their Minority Audience for Praise?

These days, with all of the commotion going on within the gaming industry surrounding social issues, one has to ask the question... how long will it take before games begin to be more "inclusive" as a way of standing out?

Personally, it seems as though Ubisoft's latest move with Assassin's Creed Syndicate is nothing more than a show of desperation in many ways. It is no secret that Assassin's Creed, while still quite popular in some circles is losing its touch. With the 2014 release of Unity being harshly ridiculed for major bugs, framerate issues, and graphical inconsistencies, Ubisoft needed to devise a strategy to help gamers forget the negative and embrace the series once more.

To be progressive and inclusive is one thing, I think most can admit that it can be quite good. However, why can't this subject simply be a display of artistic vision? Something that people can discover on their own when playing the game? Is it really fair to believe that advertising a "trans" character's inclusion in the game is anything more than a publicity stunt for attention and free marketing?

And it seems that Ubisoft is openly admitting that making this character's trans gender orientation is not for any reason other than modern inclusiveness with their audience. It's for not historical accuracy, nor for the sake of crafting a unique personality or character background. No, it's simply for the sake of shoehorning in something "new" for the sake of being able to say "Assassin's Creed is forward thinking!" To cover up the fact that the gameplay has essentially been the same with every single release.

In a sense, highlighting this aspect of a person's identity as being a stand out difference is not what the transgender community even wants. This move promotes alienation and a social divide between trans individuals and the rest of society, when in reality, people just want to be considered equal.

All in all, we will have to see how everything turns out once Syndicate is finished, but right now this all seems like an obvious ploy to detract from the negativity surrounding the series' recent past.

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