Ubisoft got into another scandal. The company was accused of insulting the Black Lives Matter movement

In the new Ubisoft mobile project, a raised black fist was used to designate a terrorist group. Now he is a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement, and therefore many have accused the French of racism. As a result, the company had to apologize.What happened?

Last week, Twitter drew attention to the introductory video of the new mobile game Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad.

In it, players confront the terrorist organization Umbra, which “wants to build a new world order.” At the same time, they use the same fist as the logo.

“Great job, guys, 110% not a political move,“ wrote user BestJakeYoung, whose post with a screenshot from the game has already gained 10 thousand likes.

Historical contextInitially, this logo became a protest symbol back in the late 60s, when representatives of the Black Power movement tried in various ways to achieve justice for African Americans.

The black Fist was also used by left-wing organizations like the Black Panther Party and eventually became one of the symbols of the struggle for civil rights and the lives of black citizens.

Now he is associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, which originated in 2013 and opposed police violence and discrimination against African Americans. This year, a number of deaths of blacks at the hands of law enforcement officers led to a new wave of protests.

That is why many users considered the use of a black fist in relation to terrorists to be at least tactless, and some accused Ubisoft of racism.

Reaction of the company and employeesOn Saturday, the developers of Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad issued an official statement, calling their actions “tactless and harmful.”

“We sincerely apologize and will remove this symbol in our next update, which will be released on September 1,” the appeal says.

Scandal related to the project managerThe game director of Elite Squad, as well as the head of the Owlient studio responsible for the development of the game, is Charlie Guillemot.

He is the son of Yves Guillemot, one of the founders and CEO of Ubisoft.

Schreier hinted that Charlie could get into the company by fraud. He graduated from the university in 2014 and received a master’s degree in computer Science. Just a few months later, Guillemot became the general manager of the Paris studio Owlient.

***This year Ubisoft has repeatedly found itself in the center of scandals.

In the summer, the French company began a massive reshuffle after several employees were accused of harassment at once. Yves Guillemot later stated that he intends to eradicate sexism and harassment within the walls of Ubisoft.

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