Ubisoft is under fire for its recently announced “Assassin’s Creed Shadows Dubbing Challenge” on TikTok. Launched on June 18, the contest promises winners the chance to delve into the world of voice acting, guided by seasoned pros, including the well-known Danny Wallace (voice of Shaun Hastings). Contestants can also voice a secondary NPC in the much-anticipated Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
The challenge requires participants to follow Assassin’s Creed or Ubisoft’s TikTok accounts in their preferred language, choose an Assassin’s Creed cutscene, use TikTok’s ‘Duet Feature’ to record themselves reading the script, and post their video with the hashtag #AssassinsCreedDubbingChallenge.
Winners will be flown to London for a recording session and voice training.
Despite the dream-like opportunity for fans, industry professionals have slammed the contest, calling it exploitative. Senior voice artists like Rufus Wright, who voiced characters in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, criticized Ubisoft’s move.
Wright, who was paid for his work, stated, “Using fans to work for free is a really, really bad look, particularly when these games gross billions of dollars.”
Jack Sapsford echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that voicing lines is “a job and not a competition,” and advised contestants to charge $250 per hour for their work.
Jennifer Caitlin Roberts, known for her role in Fire Emblem Heroes, raised concerns about the ethical implications of the contest, asking Ubisoft for confirmation that fan submissions won’t be used to train AI.
As this controversy unfolds, it underscores the need for clearer boundaries and fair compensation practices in the industry.
