Ghost Recon Breakpoint Not Making Political Statements, Ubisoft Insists Despite Obvious Themes

Ubisoft has received criticism in the past for not tackling the political issues its games touch upon. And now, despite the newly announced game Ghost Recon Breakpoint bearing the Tom Clancy branding and featuring some heavily political topics, the company's stance remains unchanged.

Breakpoint's story focuses on a silicon valley genius who develops advanced AI and drones to help humanity and save American lives. The tech giant and its drone army are hijacked by a group of rogue US soldiers, and the game's reveal stream states the drones assassinate an election candidate. Despite all this, lead developer Sebastien Le Prestre says Ubisoft isn't trying to make any particular point.

"We're creating a game here, we're not trying to make political statements in our games," he told GameSpot. "We've rooted ourselves in reality, and you'll get what you get out of your playthrough--everybody will get something different out of their experience. The story might make you see different situations, but we're not trying to guide anybody or to make any sorts of statements. It's a 'What if?' scenario, it's Tom Clancy, it's purely fictional."

Community developer Laura Cordrey elaborated by telling us Ubisoft is "always inspired by what's happening around us, and it's always our goal to stay authentic ... but the story does remain fictional."

Many Ubisoft games touch on political topics, such as The Division 2's defence of the White House in Washington DC or Far Cry 5's disaffected, ostracized community and Donald Trump references. However, Ubisoft executives have previously described engaging in politics in video games as "bad for business."

As for the new Ghost Recon game itself, check out our hands-on impressions and thoughts on why Breakpoint is both promising and concerning. It's coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 4.