Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: entertainment, games, the division, the division 2, ubisoft, video games

Developer Says The Division 2 Can't Be Openly Political

Published Thu, 18 Oct 2018 12:10:13 -0500

Ubisoft Massive has spoken about their apolitical stance on politics in The Division 2, saying it is best for business.

The Division 2 has been in some hot water since E3 over its stance on politics in the game. Or rather, its lack of a stance. The game's developers have refused to engage with political debate around the title, which is surprising given the game is about a desolate, post-epidemic Washington DC where sleeper agents are activated to save the world from itself. It's pretty hard to get away from the notion of politics in such a charged concept.

Well, it seems the developer is doubling down on not taking a stance. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, COO Alf Condelius has explained why politics in The Division 2 can't fall on the political spectrum. In a rather candid answer, he explains:

We cannot be openly political in our games. So for example in The Division, it's a dystopian future and there's a lot of interpretations that it's something that we see the current society moving towards, but it's not – it's a fantasy. It's a universe and a world that we created for people to explore how to be a good person in a slowly decaying world. But people like to put politics into that, and we back away from those interpretations as much as we can because we don't want to take a stance in current politics.

Further, Condelius, went on to say, using politics in The Division 2 would be bad for business:

It's also bad for business, unfortunately, if you want the honest truth. But it is interesting and it is a discussion that we have, and it's an ongoing discussion we have with our users, of course, because people want to put an interpretation into the universe that we create and they want to see their own reality in the fantasies that we give them, and the stories that the games are.

This is a strong point to be making, especially considering the content of The Division 2. I'm of the mind that everything is political in some way, so seeing how The Division2 toes this line should certainly be interesting.

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