Ubisoft’s latest blockbuster game, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has released today. A lot is riding on the success of Shadows for the company and things appear to be off to a good start. The Japanese government (the game is set in Japan) however has been vocal about some of their concerns and today Ubisoft quietly released a patch to address some of their concerns.

First obtained by IGN the patch specifically addresses concerns about Japanese artifacts and cultural items being destroyed. The patch notes were not released publicly as of yet. Of course in most Assassin’s Creed games rolling into or attacking items in game will cause them to be destroyed. That won’t be the case in Shadows for certain items.

Items inside temples and shrines are now mostly indestructible. Additionally while you can hit citizens in shrines and temples they will not bleed. Japanese officials were concerned about temples and shrines being defaced or brutalized and this addresses those concerns. Certain items out in the world that can’t be destroyed in temples and shrines will still destructible.

Japanese Governments Concerns

This patch comes a day after the game was addressed in a Japanese government meeting. Hiroyuki Kada, a politician in Japan’s House Of Councillors Of Japan had this to say on the topic:

“I fear that allowing players to attack and destroy real-world locations in the game without permission could encourage similar behavior in real life. Shrine officials and local residents are also worried about this. Of course, freedom of expression must be respected, but acts that demean local cultures should be avoided.”

Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba also responded saying:

“How to address this legally is something we need to discuss with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

“Defacing a shrine is out of the question – it is an insult to the nation itself. When the Self-Defense Forces were deployed to Samawah, Iraq, we ensured they studied Islamic customs beforehand. Respecting the culture and religion of a country is fundamental, and we must make it clear that we will not simply accept acts that disregard them.”

The day 1 patch also addressed sone other minor issues within the game itself, including fixing players getting stuck after dodging and some clipping of Yasuke’s and Naoe’s outfits. You can see the full patch notes below.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows day-one patch notes:

This update brings various improvements and fixes, including:

• Players no longer getting stuck inside movable objects after dodging forward and interacting with them in kofuns
• Fix for procedural weapons being removed incorrectly when selling items
• Adjustments to prevent players from going out of bounds when proning against objects
• Improved horse navigation, reducing issues with turning and blocked paths
• Lighting adjustments for cave, kofun, and architectural entrances/exits
• Fixes for cloth clipping on Yasuke’s outfits (while riding) and Naoe’s outfits (while crouching)
• Citizens without weapons no longer bleed when attacked, reducing unintended blood spill in temples/shrines
• Tables and racks in temples/shrines are now indestructible (Some objects like drums or bowls can still be broken as they are generic ones present everywhere in the world) (Tables are still dynamic objects, so players can still move/push them).