Scottish dev ditches Guantanamo game
"As a direct result of extreme reactions."
Scottish developer T-Enterprise has scrapped work on Xbox 360 game Rendition: Guantanamo "as a direct result of the extreme reaction" against it.
Rendition was to be set in a Guantanamo detention facility run not by US troops but by mercenaries. Adam, the game's main character, is mistaken for someone else and detained there. He is not a terrorist.
Controversially, however, Mozzam Begg was brought in as a consultant for the game. He, a British citizen, was held at a Guantanamo Bay from 2002 to 2005.
"Unfortunately, much of the speculation regarding the game itself made by various publications and websites has been inaccurate and ill-informed. It was never designed to be 'propaganda' or 'a recruiting tool for terrorism'. Neither was it designed to glamorise terrorism as has been reported," writes T-Enterprise boss Zarrar Chisti in a statement on Kotaku.
"T-Enterprise has never had and would never have a link to Al Qaeda in any way, shape or form. Furthermore, we would certainly not facilitate a means of funding for any group that undertook terrorist activities. The game was simply designed to be an action videogame that adults could enjoy.
"However, as a direct result of the extreme reaction that the game and its popular misconceptions have provoked, T-Enterprise has decided to pull out of the project and will not be completing Rendition: Guantanamo," he adds.