According to Ubisoft Massive COO Alf Condeliusâ, the decision to avoid taking a political stance in video games is a purely a monetary one, as pol
According to Ubisoft Massive COO Alf Condeliusâ, the decision to avoid taking any concrete, political stance in video games like The Division is purely a monetary one, as politics are “bad for business.”
Speaking earlier today at the Sweden Game Conference in Skövde, Condelius explained how Ubisoft Massive attempts to distance itself from any political interpretations players may have.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, He goes on to justify why developers and publishers may choose not to include politically charged messages in their work.
“It’s a balance because we cannot be openly political in our games,” Condelius said. “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.” In addition to politics potentially ruining sales, Condelius goes on to say that he doesn’t want to risk alienating players with a political message, hoping to create a narrative of their own. “It’s also bad for business, unfortunately, if you want the honest truth…” Condelius continued, “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.” The statements almost serve as a contradiction since The Division 2 is set in Washington DC, a global hub for political activity.
