Ghost Recon Wildlands is one beautiful game, Ubisoft has clear went away from its “graphics downgrade” days. But maybe Wildlands’ depiction of a fictional Bolivia overrun by narcotics terrorist is a bit too close for comfort. The Bolivian government issued a formal complaint to the French embassy on La Paz regarding the game, made by France-based Ubisoft.
According to Reuters, Bolivian Interior minister Carlos Romero sent the complaint hoping that the French government intervene. “We have the standing to do it (take legal action), but at first we prefer to go the route of diplomatic negotiation,” Romero said.
Ubisoft responded to this issue by stating that the game is a work of fiction. The reason Bolivia was picked to be the backdrop for the latest entry to the Ghost Recon franchise is its magnificent landscapes and rich culture”.
“While the game’s premise imagines a different reality than the one that exists in Bolivia today, we do hope that the in-game world comes close to representing the country’s beautiful topography,” Ubisoft said.
Clearly, Ubisoft has done impressive work on their world-building that it has garnered this attention. Though the Bolivian government taking such actions is understandable. With the game being relatively grounded to reality and the fictional narcotics terrorism is grounded on the reality that Bolivia is the third largest producer of cocoa leaves, an ingredient for cocaine in the world, it is not hard to see why Bolivia is concerned about its depiction here in the game.
On another note, Ubisoft is even doing a documentary about the drug trade- a real life issue- in South America, particularly Bolivia. It’s a feature length tie-in to Ghost Recon Wildlands.