Too Soon for Sassy Politics
Tried to find a company that doesn’t paint a target on it’s back, and we’ll point you to a thousand who do. Publisher Ubisoft recently drew negative attention with a marketing ploy in reference to the United States’ government shutdown. Apparently, The Division 2’s D.C. setting made a political comment far too tempting.
The Division 2’s private beta lies just around the corner, and people should be aware of the fact. Pre-order players get first dibs to the highly anticipated sequel, from February 7th-February 10th. Unfortunately, Ubisoft ramped up their marketing in a way that many people deemed insensitive. The United States is currently recovering from a government shutdown— the longest in its history—while pleading with the president’s sanity to avoid another.
It wasn’t exactly kosher when the Quebec-based company advertised their game with the words “Come see what a real government shutdown looks like.”
‘The Division 2 is not trying to make a political statement’ – 2018
2019 be like: pic.twitter.com/4xKoRRfryw
— Skill Up on vacation (@SkillUpYT) February 1, 2019
I mean, they’re not exactly wrong, in regard to The Division 2’s backdrop and plot, but it’s too soon… Ubisoft was quick to correct, however, and has since delivered an email apology.
“A marketing email promoting Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 was sent in error today,” it read. “This was a grave breakdown in process and we apologize for this error and the offensive subject line of the email. We recognize the very real impact of the United States government shutdown on thousands of people and did not intend to make light of the situation.”
Life comes at you fast. #TheDivision2 @Ubisoft pic.twitter.com/V8OqqyRVqq
— Vale FC (@vcantweet) February 1, 2019
Ubisoft is no stranger to political heatwaves, especially considering the Tom Clancy fiction that many of their games are based on. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how they tackle politically charged topics as they arise in game development. What do you think?
Has Ubisoft stumbled or have they walled off The Division 2’s private beta success? Comment down below.
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