The plot of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is carrying very righteous message in light of the recent political climate. For those of you who aren’t aware, Wolfenstein II takes place in an alternate timeline where the United States is on the verge of being completely overrun by Nazis and fascism. This fictional setting of Nazis marching on American soil is awfully familiar to real-life current events. One might think that Bethesda wouldn’t want to stir the pot of any political debate regarding the connection, as would be the same with any publisher of an AAA blockbuster, but Bethesda’s social media team has been anything but shy in showing off how the company feels about it in their latest Twitter post.
“Not My America” is the exact slogan used by protest groups and civil-rights activist groups in response to the events around President Trump’s reaction to the events of Charlottesville and his travel ban. Pairing this slogan with marketing material for Wolfenstein II has caused complaints and heavy discussion around the content of the video and the decision making that went into this post. “Yeah it’s pretty stupid that people are taking game about killing nazis and trying to make it political,” says a reddit user, while over on Twitter, “Wolfenstein Social Media Manager, you’re doing amazing sweetie.”
Gameindustry.biz reached out to Peter Hines, director of marketing at Bethesda, to find out exactly what the thought process was behind their “controversial” post.
We’re certainly aware of current events in America and how they relate to some of the themes in Wolfenstein II. Wolfenstein has been a decidedly anti-Nazi series since the first release more than 20 years ago. We aren’t going to shy away from what the game is about. We don’t feel it’s a reach for us to say Nazis are bad and un-American, and we’re not worried about being on the right side of history here.
With only a few weeks remaining until Wolfenstein II’s October 27th release, this social media post has no doubt drawn attention to the upcoming shooter. I highly recommend reading the full Gameindustry.biz article for all of Peter’s comments before making an opinion, as he fully explains the reasoning behind his team’s post. I also would really like to know about how you feel about Wolfenstein II in light of everything. Are you still hyped, are you more hyped, or has a post of this nature turned you off from the experience? Why or why not?