Ubisoft apologizes for using an unauthorized flag design in Assassin’s Creed Shadows concept art, won’t use it anymore – except for in its pricey collector’s edition art book

Ubisoft has issued a public apology and pledged to mostly stop using two pieces of Assassin’s Creed Shadows concept art after it was pointed out that they included a flag made by a real-life historical re-enactment group who hadn’t actually given permission for it to be used.

As reported by PC Gamer, the issue was first raised last month by Twitter user @matchlock_kage, one of the members of the Sekigahara Teppotai (or Sekigahara Rifle Corps) group in Japan. The user shared a clear image of the group’s flag – which is a distinctive black, red, and white design with the group’s name on the front – and pointed out that if you zoom in on two particular pieces of art for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you can see the flag in the background. You can look at the flag in question below, as well as the two pieces of art – in the first piece of art, it can be seen right next to the horse in the bottom middle, and in the second piece, it can be seen next to a group of three individuals on the right side, surrounded by a fence.