Ubisoft Apologizes Yet Again for ‘Missing the Mark’ With Assassin’s Creed Odyssey DLC (Spoilers)

Ubisoft has released yet another statement regarding the controversial Legacy of the First Blade “Shadow Heritage” DLC for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Do note that this post contains spoilers so proceed at your own risk.

The gist of the issue is that Odyssey allows players to have bi, gay or straight characters but the latest DLC episode disregards player choice entirely, and enforces a heterosexual twist. The DLC also comes with an oddly-worded trophy/achievement that suggests that Odyssey‘s characters reach maturity once they become parents.

The first two statements that Ubisoft released on the matter tried to explain the reason behind the controversial scene. However, the third statement reads more like a mea culpa, in which the developer acknowledged that it “missed the mark.”

The full statement from Creative Director Jonathan Dumont is as follows:

Reading through player responses of our new DLC for Legacy of the First Blade, Shadow Heritage, we want to extend an apology to players disappointed by a relationship your character partakes in. The intention of this story was to explain how your character’s bloodline has a lasting impact on the Assassins, but looking through your responses it is clear that we missed the mark.

Alexios/Kassandra realizing their own mortality and the sacrifice Leonidas and Myrrine made before them to keep their legacy alive, felt the desire and duty to preserve their important lineage. Our goal was to let players choose between a utilitarian view of ensuring your bloodline lived on or forming a romantic relationship. We attempted to distinguish between the two but could have done this more carefully as we were walking a narrow line between role-play choices and story, and the clarity and motivation for this decision was poorly executed. As you continue the adventure in next episode Bloodline, please know that you will not have to engage in a lasting romantic relationship if you do not desire to.

We have read your responses online and taken them to heart. This has been a learning experience for us. Understanding how attached you feel to your Kassandra and your Alexios is humbling and knowing we let you down is not something we take lightly. We’ll work to do better and make sure the element of player choice in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey carries through our DLC content so you can stay true to the character you have embodied throughout.

Ubisoft didn’t say whether it plans to make changes to the controversial content or not.

[Source: Ubisoft]