Through 2018, Ubisoft has been facing some criticism, particularly aimed at The Division 2 . Leading off the critical response to the first game, as well as Far Cry 5 , representatives for the game were asked about its political themes. After denying the game had any, despite the setting, context, and the whole Tom Clancy thing among other factors, fans and journalists alike seemed frustrated with the company. Speaking to CEO Yves Guillemot, The Guardian’s Keith Stuart was able to get a comment on the matter.
The comment won’t please everyone in the frustrated camp, but it’s an interesting response nonetheless. Guillemot says that the choices of setting, tone, and imagery in Ubisoft’s games are deliberate, but the company avoids adhering to a specific stance or statement. This is because Guillemot says the intent is to use those components to get the players to think about things for themselves.
The logic here is that, as many of these games are open world and mechanically about player choice, that logic extends to the thematic elements as well. So with the tools and elements provided, perhaps a player will start to think more about the outer context of what’s going on in games like The Division 2 and Far Cry 5 , as well as the world at large. But they can also just… not, as well. “The player is the actor,” he says, “it’s a huge opportunity, but it’s also a big challenge because it comes with responsibility.”
Source: The Guardian