Totally apolitical Ubisoft franchise (not that one, nor the other one; no, the other, other one) set to receive an RPG adaptation

Arkhane Asylum has announced that it’s developing and publishing an RPG based on Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division video game franchise. The French company is chiefly known for producing French-language versions of a number of RPGs, working with publishers such as Free League Publishing, R. Talsorian Games, and Modiphius Entertainment, although it also publishes the English RPG, GODS. Tom Clancy’s The Division is an online shooter video game franchise initially released in 2016 and only loosely inspired by the military-science and espionage novels of the late, titular author. The game was a huge success, breaking several sales records, and a sequel, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, was released in 2019. A third game in the franchise, Tom Clancy’s The Division 3 has been confirmed to be in development, and a mobile spin-off Tom Clancy’s The Division Resurgence, is set for release later this month. A crowdfunding campaign for Tom Clancy’s The Division The Roleplaying Game will launch on Kickstarter in June.

Licensed RPGS have been a hot topic at Rascal of late, with Thomas’ License to Kill column inspiring some in-depth discussions on the always deadly serious Rascal Radio Hour podcast. As is often the case with these games, the first question that springs to mind is “why?” The Division is a successful franchise, but is there an audience of fans who are also tabletop roleplayers? Why The Division and not Ghost Recon or Rainbow Six? What makes The Division The Roleplaying Game worth playing instead of adapting a similar game you’re already familiar with?

Or, perhaps most importantly, who the fuck thought this was a good idea in the currrent political climate?

This is the most distasteful RPG adaptation I’ve heard of in a long time. The Division is set in the USA during a pandemic and portrays anonymous federal agents with little to no oversight running around major US cities and killing civilians. In 2016, that was merely a macho right wing fantasy, but now it’s actually happening. You don’t have to boot up your favorite totally apolitical (as Ubisoft regularly insists about its games) third-person cover shooter to see wannabe soldiers in tacticool getup running around brutalizing people, you can just switch on the news.

I’m sure there are plenty of people who have played more of The Division than I have who can explore the ins and outs of the franchise’s plot and argue that it’s all okay, actually. Those desperate poors you kill are really violent, or it’s all because of some shadowy conspiracy, so shady government men (and women, of many ethnic backgrounds — diversity win!) with guns are totally heroic heroes. You’re protecting the Good Americans from the Bad Americans(?) Honestly, I don’t care. The optics of this alone are repellant — tone deaf, at best. Game designers have a responsibility to approach politically charged subjects with care and tact, and I can’t comprehend publishing a game like this and not being aware of the current US political situation. The most charitable interpretation is one of extreme wilful ignorance, with the alternative being that multiple people looked at The Division, saw the parallels with COVID and ICE and police brutality, and decided to make the game anyway. 

In an interview with TTRPG Insider Arkhane Asylum publishing director Mathieu Saintout states “The Kickstarter will function as a preorder and a great way for us to connect with a new audience, especially in the US.” As part of that prospective new anglophone audience for Arkhane Asylum, consider this me connecting and saying “No, thanks”.