The France-based Ubisoft, once a titan of the gaming world, now teeters on the brink of ruin, its reputation battered by self-inflicted wounds and a desperate grasp for relevance. The studio’s latest debacle, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, has ignited a firestorm of controversy, swapping out a Japanese protagonist for a black character eerily reminiscent of George Floyd—a move that reeks of pandering wokeness and spits in the face of Japanese culture.
Just today it was discovered that the video game has lesbian scenes as well:
Fans, particularly in Japan, are rightfully outraged, seeing this not as bold creativity but as an insult to their heritage, all while Ubisoft doubles down on its sanctimonious, progressive posturing. Even the Prime Minster of Japan has called for an investigation of Ubisoft for their insult to Japanese culture.
The rot doesn’t stop there. As of March 17, 2025, news broke that Ubisoft has unleashed their lawyers to bully and silence critics daring to call out this nonsense, labeling their dissent as “harassment” of developers. This Orwellian overreach—straight out of a dystopian playbook—shows a company so divorced from its audience that it prefers litigation over listening.
With its stock plummeting and goodwill evaporating, Ubisoft’s precarious state raises a glaring question: how has this floundering giant stayed afloat despite alienating its core fans?
Blame Canada
The answer lies in a dirty little secret—massive handouts from Canadian taxpayers. For years, Ubisoft has gorged itself on government subsidies, grants, and tax credits, particularly from Quebec, turning it into a welfare queen of the gaming industry. Far from a scrappy innovator, Ubisoft’s survival seems less tied to market success and more to the generosity of bureaucrats. As we peel back the layers of this financial lifeline, it’s time to ask: has all this public cash turned Ubisoft into a puppet of the state, more beholden to woke agendas than the gamers who once made it great?
Ubisoft has received large sums of Canadian government funding over the years, primarily in the forms of subsidies, grants, and tax credits, particularly in Quebec, where it has its largest Canadian operation. Exact figures vary with the time period and the programs involved, but here’s an estimate based on available data:
Historical Subsidy Totals
Between 2005 and 2019, Ubisoft is estimated to have received around CA$1.1 billion in Canadian government subsidies and tax credits, with nearly 90% of that coming from Quebec. This total represents cumulative support over those years, primarily through multimedia tax credit programs that refund up to 37.5% of eligible labor costs for game development.
Annual Estimates
In recent years, Ubisoft has continued to receive significant financial benefits. For example, in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, the company received CA$90 million from Quebec alone to help subsidize employee salaries. Reports also suggest that Ubisoft Quebec, a major studio, receives around CA$100 million per year in provincial tax credits.
Specific Investments
- In 2007, the Canadian federal government provided a repayable contribution of CA$8 million to support Ubisoft’s expansion in Montreal, including the creation of a digital film production studio.
- In 2005, a CA$5 million grant was issued over three years to help grow Ubisoft Montreal.
- Ontario also contributed CA$263 million over 10 years starting in 2009 to establish Ubisoft Toronto, aiming to create 800 jobs.
Long-Term Subsidy Support
Between 2013 and 2017, Ubisoft reportedly received CA$615 million in subsidies, a figure that nearly matched its total net profit of $634 million over the same period. Over the 12 fiscal years before 2017, Canadian governments provided CA$629.8 million in grants, surpassing Ubisoft’s pre-tax earnings of €613.2 million.
Economic Impact & Ongoing Support
These funds have played a major role in Ubisoft’s growth in Canada, allowing it to employ thousands of people and develop blockbuster franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. While critics argue that such government support is propping up an otherwise unprofitable company, supporters point to the economic benefits, including job creation in Montreal, Quebec City, and Toronto. The Quebec government has committed to maintaining these subsidies until at least 2027, signaling continued substantial financial support.
Since exact up-to-date figures are not publicly available in a single comprehensive report, these estimates are based on historical data and various sources. As of March 18, 2025, it is reasonable to assume that Ubisoft continues to receive hundreds of millions annually, mainly through Quebec’s tax credit system, though the precise 2024-2025 figures would require updated financial disclosures.
DEI Strings Attached: Quebec’s Woke Puppetry
What’s driving this shift toward woke content? One clue lies in Quebec’s legislative framework, specifically “The Act Respecting Equal Access to Employment in Public Bodies,” which mandates diversity and inclusion in hiring practices for public entities—and likely influences the strings attached to government grants. Ubisoft, as a major recipient of Quebec’s largesse, may be under pressure to align its workforce with these DEI goals, prioritizing ideological conformity over raw talent.
If you hire developers steeped in woke dogma—garbage in—you get games like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, where historical authenticity is sacrificed on the altar of progressive pandering—garbage out. It’s not a stretch to imagine that Quebec’s subsidies come with a nudge to reflect the province’s social priorities, turning Ubisoft into a testing ground for state-sponsored ideology.
Then there’s the curious case of Sweet Baby Inc., a controversial Montreal-based narrative design firm notorious for injecting DEI-driven stories into video games. Founded by ex-Ubisoft employees and conveniently located in the same city as Ubisoft’s largest Canadian studio, Sweet Baby’s fingerprints seem to linger over the company’s recent output. Titles like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows bear the hallmarks of their style—forced diversity, heavy-handed messaging, and a disdain for cultural nuance.
Could Quebec’s grant money be funneled, directly or indirectly, into partnerships with firms like Sweet Baby to ensure Ubisoft’s games tick the right progressive boxes? The overlap in personnel and proximity raises questions about whether this is less a coincidence and more a calculated move to appease government benefactors.
This DEI entanglement could explain Ubisoft’s stubborn doubling-down, even as fans revolt. If the subsidies are tied to hitting diversity quotas or collaborating with woke consultants, the company’s creative decisions start to look less like missteps and more like contractual obligations. The result is a feedback loop: taxpayer cash funds a hiring pipeline of ideologues, who then churn out content that alienates the audience, all while Ubisoft leans harder on government support to survive the backlash. It’s a perverse cycle where Quebec’s well-meaning policies—or perhaps cynical virtue-signaling—morph Ubisoft from a gaming innovator into a mouthpiece for state-approved narratives, leaving fans with little more than polished propaganda.
Inside the Assassin’s Creed Sausage Factory
According to an X user Savvy, the original Assassin’s Cred was made by 150 developers:
The new AC has 3000 people working on it. Many who are no doubt unqualified DEI hires. This largess is all made possible thanks to Canadian government grants and subsidies.
One X user wondered how with 3,000 people working on AC Shadows that they could allow historical inaccuracies. Savvy replied that an aura of toxic positivity envelopes Ubisoft. Nobody is allowed to say anything negative or they might get a complaint from a fellow worker who runs to the HR dept. to get them fired for wrongthink.
Two other X users noticed the same thing:
Conclusion: From Creed to Crud
So here we are, staring at a bloated, government-fed beast that’s lost its way, gorging on taxpayer dollars while sneering at the fans who built it. Ubisoft’s obscene reliance on Canadian handouts—over a billion bucks and counting—hasn’t just padded its bottom line; it’s warped its soul. Instead of crafting games for the rugged, freedom-loving gamers who crave adventure and authenticity, Ubisoft churns out woke drivel like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, bending the knee to progressive overlords and government paymasters. This isn’t a company thriving in the wilds of the free market—it’s a coddled pet, fattened up on public cash, now more interested in appeasing bureaucrats than delivering what its audience demands.
The irony is thick enough to choke on: a studio propped up by the state now wields its legal cudgel to silence dissent, all while its creative output reeks of the very authoritarian stench it claims to oppose. Ubisoft’s addiction to subsidies has divorced it from reality, letting it drift into a fantasy world where insulting Japanese culture and suing critics is a winning strategy.
As Quebec pledges to keep the gravy train rolling through 2027, gamers should unite in protest—because every dollar shoveled into this woke dumpster fire is a dollar stolen from a market that once rewarded merit, not mediocrity. Ubisoft’s fall isn’t just a cautionary tale; it’s a damning indictment of what happens when you trade your spine for a government teat.
–Wolfshead
