Recently, Elon Musk, the idiosyncratic entrepreneur, has been the subject of much controversy for his association with President Donald Trump and his position in the new administration. The most recent flare-up involves Musk engaging in a public dispute on social media channel X with prominent Twitch streamer, HasanAbi, over the latest release in the Assasin’s Creed series. In a curious twist, game developer Ubisoft has also entered the fray. Mirroring this storyline, accusations are being levelled against Ubisoft for purportedly financing ‘terrorist-platforming’ streamers to push their latest offering, a claim which could have serious ramifications if found to be true.
The concept of ‘terrorist-platforming’ is in relation to the utilization of online channels by extremist factions and terrorist units to propagate their ideologies, recruit new members, and orchestrate attacks. As this tale unfolds and netizens align their loyalties, it would be instructive to trace back and understand how this situation unfurled. The dispute involving Ubisoft’s recent release took off after Musk publicized his views on the matter in a series of posts on media channel X, following HasanAbi’s endorsement of the new game.
The sequence started with a straightforward accusation from Musk, stating, ‘Hasan is a fraud.’ Not delaying, Musk extended his comment, clarifying his viewpoint, ‘A better term would be ‘sell-out.’ In an unbiased assessment, he is promoting a subpar game solely for financial gain.’ Ubisoft, from the official Assassin’s Creed X account, did not hold back in its rebuttal, throwing a jab back at Musk, ‘Is that what the guy managing your Path of Exile 2 profile advised you?’
This was clearly an attempt to question Musk’s candidature as a high-ranking gamer. Amidst the digital chatter, there have been insinuations directed at Musk, accusing him of faking his prowess in the gaming realm, and this was just Ubisoft joining the crescendo. Highlighting the game at the heart of the contention, the latest offering in the Assassin’s Creed lineup faced substantial critique leading up to its release, centered mostly on its representation of Japanese history and the corresponding interpretation of this mythology woven into the game’s narrative.
The game also grappled with successive postponements of its launch due primarily to this controversy, alongside persistent technical glitches affecting gameplay. The game, essentially a science-fiction creation, however, in spite of myriad opposing views, has been the recipient of predominantly positive reviews.