Milan Uhrik and the controversies around games and diversity

The debate over the 'Stop Killing Games' movement has recently drawn the attention of the European Parliament, but Slovak politician Milan Uhrik appears to have dominated the conversation with his personal views on the gaming industry. In his speech, Uhrik focused on issues of ‘wokeness’ and monetization in video games, arguing that these elements are harmful to the industry.

Political criticism of diversity in games

During a session in the European Parliament, Uhrik stated: "Wokeness and aggressive monetization are the enemies of video games. When players take on the role of a samurai, they naturally want to play as a Japanese warrior and not be forced to play as a fighting Black or female warrior, as was recently the case in Assassin’s Creed." These remarks directly refer to the recent release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, in which players take on the role of Yasuke, a historical figure of African descent who lived in Japan during the late 16th century.

The situation around Assassin’s Creed Shadows

In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, both Yasuke and a fictional character, Naoe, are available as playable characters. The decision to introduce Yasuke as a character was controversial at the time, and the backlash that followed contributed to a delay of the game. Ubisoft said that the negative reactions to the game’s diversity were among the factors behind the delay.

The Stop Killing Games movement

The 'Stop Killing Games' movement emerged in response to Ubisoft’s decision to shut down The Crew, which disappointed many players. The idea behind the movement is that game publishers should be held accountable for keeping titles available after they have already been sold to players. The movement was launched by YouTube host Ross Scott, who brought legal questions around game shutdowns into the spotlight.

Reactions from the game industry

In response to Uhrik’s comments and the 'Stop Killing Games' movement, the European lobby group Video Games Europe argued that the movement’s proposals would limit developers’ freedom of choice and make game development unaffordable. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said at a 2025 shareholder meeting that games should be treated as a service, but that it is ultimately not possible to support those services forever. Guillemot stressed that the industry is working on ways to minimize the impact on players, but that the reality of game support also has to be acknowledged.

Conclusion

The controversies around diversity in games remain a hot topic in both the gaming community and politics. Milan Uhrik’s remarks have further fueled the debate, and the future of the 'Stop Killing Games' movement and developers’ responses will be crucial to the direction the industry takes. How companies like Ubisoft respond to both criticism and player needs will shape the evolution of games as an inclusive and accessible form of entertainment.