Assassin’s Creed can be played “at home or in school, in every country” with censored statues

assassins creed origins discovery tour nude statues censorship

Update, February 22: Ubisoft have provided a statement on Assassin’s Creed’s newly de-naughtified statues.

For the educational Discovery Tour mode just added to Assassin’s Creed Origins, Ubisoft have elected to cover up the naughty bits of all the Egyptian statues with some very silly looking seashells. Here’s what they have to say.

Find out from an Egyptologist how well Assassin’s Creed Origins captures history.

“From the start we wanted to create the Discovery Tour as a way to allow a maximum number of people to enjoy and learn about Ancient Egypt. This meant that we wanted the Discovery Tour to be used by kids with their parents and teenagers at home or in school, in every country.

“We therefore decided to use a version well suited for all audiences, including younger ones, while also taking into account cultural sensitivities that can be different from one country to another.”

Discovery Tour is a free update for Assassin’s Creed Origins, which is rated M by the ESRB and 18+ by PEGI, with content descriptors including nudity and sex. It’s also available as a standalone release with a softer rating of Teen or 12+. Whether you’re playing the standalone version or the one in the base game, you’ll still have those pesky seashells blocking your view of that marble glory.

Original story, February 21:If you remember a time before the internet allowed instant free access to every sort of pornography, you may recall the subtle thrill of coming across nudity in educational material, whether that be from art history or photos of distant cultures with different clothing standards. Unfortunately, Ubisoft have declared their own educational material a nudity-free zone.

As Rock, Paper, Shotgun noted today, every single nude statue in Origins’ new educational Discovery Tour mode has been tastefully covered up with seashells. No stone genitals. No marble breasts. Every single stone ornament throughout the land has been given a PG scrubbing, and if you load the mode up for yourself you’ll start seeing them just a few feet from your starting position. There doesn’t appear to be a “show me the good bits” option in the menu, either.

We’ve asked Ubisoft for comment, less out of due diligence and more just because we have to know.

Assassin’s Creed Origins is rated M by the ESRB and 18 by PEGI, with descriptors from the ratings boards warning of nudity. That extends beyond the statues to some wandering villagers and an occasional glimpse of actual sex over the course of the game.

The Discovery Tour mode is also available as a standalone purchase with a more parent and educator friendly rating. That certainly explains why you’d cut nudity on living, human characters, but I’d thought we as a society had long since agreed we’re cool with naughty pieces of marble. You statue fetishists will have to go elsewhere for your kicks.