Recently, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney championed the idea of "separation of church and state," with developers keeping politics out of games. Sweeney has emerged as one of the most powerful and influential players in the world of gaming, as (despite a drop in player spending) Fortnite remains the most popular video game on the planet. After touting Fortnite's recent partnerships with Marvel and Star Wars, Sweeney took shots at Google and Facebook for removing privacy and freedom for its users.
Sweeney later referenced "controversy around political censorship" from foreign countries on domestic companies, a clear reference to the Blitzchung and Blizzard controversy. The company's decision to ban a player for openly expressing his Hong Kong stance led to a swift backlash against the company, as thousands of players expressed solidarity with Chung and their disdain towards Blizzard. As Chinese technology giant Tencent is a partial owner of Blizzard and games like Overwatch, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft are enormously popular in China, it is discernible that the ban against Chung was a business decision. While Sweeney believes that it is possible to separate video games from politics, the Blizzard controversy may indicate that the Epic Games founder and CEO is being naive.
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Sweeney references Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird in his speech, arguing that art has the power to make audiences think and evolve. He then pivoted to his "separation of church and state" comments, though he later clarified his view of politics in art.
Sweeney believes that if art tackles politics, it should come from the creative side, not the marketing department. While Epic Games won't ban players for speaking out in their political views unlike Blizzard, the gaming company won't specifically take a stance on politics. Epic Games' view on politics mirrors Ubisoft, which claims to not be political despite its increasingly politicized games. Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a recent example, as the game explores autonomous drones and AI and follows a rogue group of former U.S. soldiers.
In his speech, Sweeney refers to game developers as "a group of people who get together to accomplish a mission that is larger than what any one person can do," and says their mission is "to build great technology and great games" while respecting the different views employees and management may have. Games, like television and movies, are a form that art that requires a collaborative process.
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"The world is really screwed up right now. Right now our political orientations determine which fast-food chicken restaurant you go to," Sweeney claimed at DICE, clearly referencing Chick-fil-A's controversial stance on LGBT issues and religion. "And that's really dumb. There's no reason to drag divisive topics like that into gaming at all."
Sweeney made further comparisons between Epic and Chick-fil-A on Twitter.
This comparison between video games and fast food restaurants simply doesn't work. Sweeney may be correct in his claim that a marketing department shouldn't be trying to capitalize on division, but gaming companies like Epic Games should do more than remain politically neutral. They should fully support their creators when it comes to making political statements. Akin to movies and television, games are expressive pieces of art that are protected by the First Amendment. What Sweeney is ignoring in his statements is that art is inherently political, and choosing to take no stance is actually a stance.
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Sweeney's comments about the Blizzard controversy last October, as well as politics in gaming, are invalid. Blizzard took an anti-democratic and pro-censorship stance at the behest of a conglomerate from an authoritarian state. It was cowardice that lead to the backlash against the company, not its inability to separate politics from its games. Meanwhile, Ubisoft has been making political games for years, many of which have become international best-sellers, and refusing to acknowledge them as such.
Art and politics have been inseparable since the time of ancient Greece. Video games, and art as a whole, are meant to provoke debate and discussion, and do more than provide mindless entertainment for the masses. Regardless of their personal stances, this is something that creators, executives and companies need to understand.
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