"Is that what the guy playing...?" - Ubisoft and Elon Musk clash on X over HasanAbi

Elon Musk has been under fire of late due to his friendship with President Donald Trump and his role within the newly appointed regime. Now, in the latest news, Musk has engaged in a war of words on X with Twitch streamer HasanAbi over the new Assasin’s Creed property, which prompted the game’s developer, Ubisoft, to chime in as well.

Another narrative through the line of the situation is that Ubisoft is being accused of funding ‘terrorist-platforming’ streamers to promote their newest release, which is a very dangerous practice if the allegations are accurate. The term refers to “the use of online platforms by terrorist groups and violent extremists to spread propaganda, recruit members, and plan attacks.” While social media users continue to pick a side as the story develops, it would be worthwhile to rewind and take a look at how the situation at hand came to be.

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Elon Musk v Hasan and Assasin’s Creed

The back-and-forth over Ubisoft’s newest drop came after Elon Musk shared his thoughts about the situation in consecutive posts on X after HasanAbi posted in support of the new game. The first was a simple, pointed attack, “Hasan is a fraud,” and Musk followed up by immediately elaborating on his thoughts, “‘Sell-out’ would be more accurate. Objectively, he is promoting a terrible game just for the money.”

Ubisoft was quick to respond from their official Assassin’s Creed X account, “Is that what the guy playing your Path of Exile 2 account told you?”

This was a shot at Musk’s purported gaming abilities. While the idiosyncratic entrepreneur claims to be a high-level gamer, some internet rumblings have accused him of false valour in that department, and Ubisoft chose to pile on.

It should be noted that the newest iteration of the Assasin’s Creed franchise was heavily criticized leading up to its release for the way it handled the history of Japanese culture and how this adapted mythology is adapted for the game’s story. The game also faced several delays in terms of its release for this reason, as well as persisting bugs in the gameplay.

While it doesn’t stay true to historical fact, the game is famously a work of science fiction and, despite strong dissenting opinions, has received favourable (but not astounding) reviews across the board. It will be interesting to see Elon’s response and how the on-going situation will materialise in the coming days.