Ghost Recon Wildlands’ Bolivia Disclaimer Is Unlikely To Appease Critics

No matter how often I play it, Ghost Recon Wildlands continues to be one of my favorite games of 2017 with its meaningful co-op and litany of features that separate it from other similar titles. That being said, Wildlands is not without its fair share of criticism. While most of that is focused on the gameplay itself, several parties, including notoriously the Bolivian government, calling Wildlands' portrayal of the South American country both offensive and unrepresentative.

Ubisoft's response was to essentially say "of course it's unrepresentative; it's a game." Calling Wildlands "a work of fiction," Ubisoft said they were inspired by the landscapes and culture of Bolivia, but that their latest Tom Clancy game takes place in an entirely fantastical version of it.

Evidently, Ubisoft wanted to take it a step further and add in a disclaimer, similar to the ones they've done with Assassin's Creed and The Division. Along with Title Update 2, Ubisoft ghosted in a new disclaimer that pops up before Wildlands actually launches. See this disclaimer below:

Whether or not this disclaimer was a genuine attempt by Ubisoft to educate its audience on what it certainly already knows (that Bolivia isn't actually like this), or a necessary step to avoid any legal action from the Bolivian government that would likely go nowhere anyhow, this added disclaimer is unlikely to appease Wildlands' critics who continue to insist on its offensive nature.

Critics of Wildlands' portrayal of Bolivia aren't under the impression that Ubisoft is attempting to capture the essence of what Bolivia is actually like; they're bothered that a real place is being fictionalized in a negative way at all. I'd say that's misguided criticism that attempts to limit what creative minds are allowed to come up with, but I'm not here to argue one way or the other.

The bottom line is that, if Ubisoft is hoping that adding a disclaimer would be enough to put this controversy to bed and change the minds of everyone who thinks Wildlands is offensive rubbish, the France-based game studio is sorely mistaken.

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