/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f4aa5c020381b85e8707f4e/0x0.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,541&ssl=1 "Ubisoft To Drop Fist Imagery From ‘Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad’ Over Complaints It Demonizes Black Lives Matter")
TOPLINE
Video game giant Ubisoft on Saturday said it would drop raised fist imagery from Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad after some in the gaming community criticized the company for associating Black Lives Matter with the game’s villains amid unrest stemming from the death of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Raised fists are used to represent the villain in Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad.
Screenshot
KEY FACTS
In an opening scene released earlier this week, Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad uses a raised fist to represent the game’s villain, an anarchist group “taking advantage of escalating civil unrest” to “generate even more chaos and weaken governments.”
The gaming community immediately pointed out the imagery mirrors the Black Power fist, objecting to the game appearing to demonize Black Lives Matter by associating the symbol with the game’s antagonist.
“That Elite Squad trailer? Gross and extremely disrespectful. I wish I knew about it sooner,” tweeted Ólafur Waage, a senior developer at Massive Entertainment, a game studio owned by Ubisoft.
“Tom Clancy’s games have always been a bit fash but this new one is casting BLM as the bad guys, and you have to fight them with a death squad made of special forces and criminals? Timely…” tweeted Paolo Pedercini, a professor of game design at Carnegie Mellon University.
In response to the complaints, Ubisoft apologized on Saturday morning and promised to remove any raised fist imagery from the next game update on Tuesday.
Crucial quote
“We have listened to players and the broader community who have pointed out the ‘raised fist’ imagery, as well as how it’s portrayed in the opening video, is insensitive and harmful,” Ubisoft’s statement reads.
Key background
This isn’t the first time Ubisoft has faced criticism this year. Multiple executives, including Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoët, VP of Editorial and Creative Services Tommy Francois and VP Maxime Beland, resigned this summer after multiple media reports found the company mishandled complaints about sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior for years.
Big number
2%. That’s how many game developers identify as Black, according to a 2019 report from the International Game Developer Association. The gaming industry has long been scrutinized for both its portrayal of Black characters, but also for its overwhelmingly white workforce.
Tangent
The raised fist was first used in the early 20th century as a symbol promoting working-class solidarity as well as anti-facist opposition to the Nazi party and Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. The symbol was eventually adopted by the Black Power movement in the U.S.
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