According to Kotaku, former Ubisoft Osaka game designer Kensuke Shimoda, who worked there from 2021 to 2024, has rejected online claims that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are behind Ubisoft’s financial and development issues. He stated “unequivocally” that DEI initiatives “didn’t wield that much influence” and were beneficial for expansion in regions like South America. His comments come amid ongoing criticism of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which hit over 5 million players by July 2025, and following Ubisoft’s major January 21st shakeup where it cancelled four unannounced titles, including three new IPs. Shimoda instead points to Ubisoft’s “excessively low turnover rate,” a lack of experienced senior staff, and a corporate mindset he calls “Big Business Syndrome.”
The Real Culprit? Big Business Syndrome
So, what is this “Big Business Syndrome”? It’s not some new buzzword. The term was coined way back in 1987 by Kazuma Tateisi, the former president of Japanese electronics firm OMRON. Basically, it’s the idea that companies get fat and happy. They stop taking the creative risks that made them successful in the first place, but they keep expanding anyway—which is a recipe for stagnation and falling profits. Shimoda’s argument is that Ubisoft is a textbook case. They’re sticking to safe, known IPs (hence the new “Five Creative Houses” focused only on existing franchises) while cancelling the risky new stuff. It’s corporate play-it-safe-ism, not a DEI manifesto, that’s choking their pipeline.
The DEI Debate Is a Distraction
Here’s the thing: the online fury about DEI makes for a simple, emotionally charged narrative. It’s easier to blame a samurai of African descent in Assassin’s Creed Shadows than to dissect complex corporate governance. But Shimoda’s insider take cuts through that noise. If DEI initiatives were truly so dominant and damaging, you’d expect them to be a primary internal complaint. Instead, he says they were a minor factor and even helpful. The real issues he highlights—like a lack of seasoned leads and a stagnant workforce—are the boring, universal hallmarks of a large company that’s lost its edge. It’s a story you could tell about countless corporations, in gaming or any other industry.
Ubisoft’s Painful Reset
Now, Ubisoft’s recent actions prove they know there’s a deep problem. Cancelling four projects, especially three new IPs, is a massive deal. It’s a clear retreat to familiar ground. But as the Kotaku piece notes, some current employees feel this is just “history repeating itself.” That’s the most damning part. If the underlying sickness—the “Big Business Syndrome”—isn’t addressed, then this restructuring is just rearranging deck chairs. You can create all the “Creative Houses” you want, but if the culture remains risk-averse and top-heavy, the creative output will suffer. It’s a structural and leadership problem, not a demographic one.
The Bigger Picture
Look, this whole saga is a microcosm of a wider, often bad-faith, debate. It’s convenient for certain critics to point at any underperforming product with diverse characters and shout “See! Wokeness fails!” It ignores a million other factors: game design, marketing, timing, competition, and yes, plain old corporate mismanagement. Shimoda’s comments, which you can read on his X account, are a rare piece of grounded insight from someone who was actually in the room. The takeaway? When a giant company stumbles, the reason is usually in the boardroom, not in its HR department’s inclusivity training.
