It looks like not everyone is happy with Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands.
The Bolivian government has filed a formal complaint with the French embassy regarding the portrayal of Bolivia as a drug cartel-run place in the upcoming game Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands. The game is developed and published by French company Ubisoft.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands has received overwhelming response during its beta phase, attracting 6.83 million unique players during its run. The game is scheduled for release on March 7.
A Diplomatic Protest
Based on a report, Bolivian Interior Minister Carlos Romero told reporters that his government had sent a letter to the French ambassador. He said that his government has the right to take legal action against Ubisoft and asked the French government to intervene.
The point of contention is Ghost Recon: Wildlands' main premise: a powerful and violent drug cartel named Santa Blanca has wrought chaos in Bolivia and seized power, effectively turning the whole country into a narco-state. In real life, Bolivia is the world's third largest producer of coca leaves, which are used to manufacture the drug cocaine. Bolivia ranks behind Colombia and Peru in overall production.
The scourge of illegal drugs has plagued Bolivia for years, but the country has recently won moral and strategic victories regarding the drug menace. It has exerted serious efforts to curb illegal drugs, which might explain why it reacted vehemently against its portrayal in the latest open-world shooter game.
"We have the standing to do it (take legal action), but at first we prefer to go the route of diplomatic negotiation," Romero said.
Ubisoft responded that the game is "a work of fiction" with locations, plots, and characters chosen for entertainment purposes. Bolivia was chosen for the game because of its "magnificent landscapes and rich culture," a feature of most of Tom Clancy's works, which are inspired by real-world places.
"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," Ubisoft said.
The French embassy hasn't released a statement regarding the issue.
The Open World Of Bolivia
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands is set in modern-day Bolivia. It is an open-world tactical shooter where the player (and three friends) can undertake missions in order to take down the fictional drug cartel Santa Blanca. They can explore the vast world of Bolivia with differing landscapes such as mountains, salt flats, deserts, and snowy hills.
The game is scheduled to hit the shelves on March 7.
