Ali Elmalky August 31st, 2020 - 1:33 AM
Ubisoft apologized to fans recently after a video of the mobile game, Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad showed images of a raised black fist being used as a symbol of a fictional terrorist group, UMBRA. Within the game, UMBRA is an anarchist group that is taking advantage of civil unrest in order to weaken the government – and some see the usage of the raised fist symbol specifically as a commentary on the Black Lives Matter movement. Many took to Twitter to express their discontent with Ubisoft:
Check out this disgusting imagery of the BLM movement being portrayed as some brutal authoritarian regime coming to get you, here in the new Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad just released by Ubisoft. https://t.co/Tak5Xh0x91 pic.twitter.com/T2blsJ4HSJ
— crack ping! (@Monogrammaton) August 28, 2020
Tom Clancy’s games have always been a bit fash but this new one is casting BLM as the bad guys, and you have to fight them with a death squad made of special forces and criminals? Timely…https://t.co/DoY9aORbet
— Paolo Pedercini (@molleindustria) August 28, 2020
That Elite Squad trailer? Gross and extremely disrespectful. I wish I knew about it sooner.
— Ólafur Waage (@olafurw) August 29, 2020
While the controversy did take off fairly quickly, Ubisoft was quick to release a statement regarding the symbol. “Imagery that appeared in the opening video sequence of Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad featuring a ‘raised fist’ was insensitive and harmful in both its inclusion and how it was portrayed. We have listened to and appreciate the players and the broader community who have pointed it out and we apologize.”
An update regarding Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad: pic.twitter.com/G6Hb1SO7Gx
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) August 29, 2020
The Twitter account directly representing Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad released a similar statement that echoed the same sentiments in Ubisoft’s tweet. According to both sources, the raised fist will be removed on Tuesday, September 1.
An update from the team: pic.twitter.com/BEVRyzKuU6
— Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad (@tcelitesquad) August 29, 2020
