EA is clear about where it stands on its video games getting used to support political campaigns.
The company recently had a video removed from YouTube for violating Mass Effect 2's copyright. The video in question used music, sound effects and dialogue from the game to support the controversial Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
It seems that EA became aware of the video after Trump tweeted about it.
"The video was an unauthorized use of our IP," wrote a company representative in an email to Game Informer. "We do not support our assets being used in political campaigns."
Ironically, the fan-made video used dialogue from Mass Effect 2's Illusive Man, as voiced by Martin Sheen, one of Commander Shepard's main enemies in the video game franchise. It showed clips of Trump and his supporters, along with news and stock footage, all set to a speech from the character.
Bioware employee Manveer Heir responded to the video on Twitter just before EA had it pulled.
TFW Donald Trump retweets campaign propaganda that uses music and voiceover from a game you worked on #gross https://t.co/KMYDRb72fd
— Mr. April (@manveerheir) April 4, 2016
I love the idea that Trump may think he's the Illusive Man, who is verifiably the bad guy in the game — Mr. April (@manveerheir) April 4, 2016
Trump is indoctrinated, that makes so much damn sense. THE REAPERS ARE REAL
— Mr. April (@manveerheir) April 4, 2016
The original video is still up under the Trump supporter's Twitter account @immigrant4trump. There, a debate about whether the use of Mass Effect 2 assets falls under "fair use" is also currently underway, but it's obvious that, in EA's world, Commander Shepard does not approve of that message.
Trump's re-tweet of the video has also been pulled and now displays this message, "This Tweet from @realDonaldTrump has been withheld in response to a report from the copyright holder."
This isn't the first time that unauthorized use of someone else's content has come under fire after turning up during a political campaign. In 2012, Newt Gingrich found himself the subject of a lawsuit after using "Eye of the Tiger" without permission several times at campaign rallies. Tom Petty had to send a cease-and-desist letter to George W. Bush for using "I Won't Back Down" at presidential campaign rallies.
The only difference with this video is that it was not created by Trump's campaign, but by a fan of the political candidate. Either way, EA doesn't want its content associated with the political candidate.
