French publishing giant Ubisoft has come under fire for recent releases that feature political settings but seem loath to make any political statements.
According to a Guardian interview with CEO Yves Guillemot, this is somewhat intentional. The exec says that he wants the firm's games to make players think as opposed to giving answers.
This follows the launch of Far Cry 5, which centered around a religious cult, and the announcement of The Division 2, a game set in Washington DC featuring a corrupt government that must be taken down.
In both instances, journalists have asked developers about the politics of the games only to be told they were not intended as political.
“Our goal in all the games we create, is to make people think,” Guillemot said.
“We want to put them in front of questions that they don’t always ask themselves automatically. We want players to listen to different opinions and to have their own opinions. Our goal is to give all the tools to the player in order for them to think about the subjects, to be able to see things from far enough away.”
He continued, when asked about whether Ubisoft's games are politically impartial: “That’s right. So [the player is] part of it, you speak with people who have a different opinion from your own, you test different things, so you can improve your vision of that subject – that’s what we want to do. We don’t want to say, ‘Do that, think like this ... ’ our goal is to make sure, after playing, you’re more aware.”