If you have played the beta or seen any of the trailers, you might have noticed that Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands revolves around drug cartels, trafficking and a lot of bad guys. Bolivia isn’t all too fond of this representation.
The Bolivian government has filed a formal complaint with the French embassy regarding the portrayal of the country. Bolivia says it is wrongly represented as being overrun with drug traffickers.
“We have the standing to do it (take legal action), but at first we prefer to go the route of diplomatic negotiation,” said Interior Minister Carlos Romero. Ubisoft does mention that the game is a work of fiction and that the country was chosen due to its “magnificent landscapes and rich culture”.
[quote]”While the game’s premise imagines a different reality than the one that exists in Bolivia today, we do hope that the in-game world comes close to representing the country’s beautiful topography,” said Ubisoft. [/quote]
This hasn’t affected the release of the game, which launches next week. It feels like an odd thing to threaten legal action with, but if you think of the common stereotypical portrayal of Bolivia, drugs spring to mind and this reinforces that idea. At the same time, video games are about telling a story and exacerbating situations to allow for more gameplay and higher stakes are important.
Source: WWG
