Imagine a video about the Holocaust starring Hitler as the main character. That probably wouldn’t go over too well, now, would it? Now imagine a video game about the slave trade and the atrocities millions of African slaves faced. You’d also think that would never fly in today’s world, right? Well, you’d be wrong.
In an online-gaming community called Steam Community, there’s a game that has lived quietly in the background for the last two years. In “Playing History: Slave Trade 2,” you’re able to “travel back in time and witness the horrors of slave trade firsthand. You will be working as a young slave steward on a ship crossing the Atlantic. You are to serve the captain and be his eyes and ears. What do you do when you realize that your own sister has been captured by the slave traders?”
Somehow, people on social media discovered the video game over the weekend and called out the company on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BlackGirlNerds/status/638078757744582656https://twitter.com/LisaHendrix/status/637759491258212352https://twitter.com/Basslands/status/638066920852320256
But as people called out the Denmark-based company about its game, company officials doubled down on their ignorance as to why it’s not offensive:
https://twitter.com/egenfeldt/status/638069038611079170https://twitter.com/egenfeldt/status/638285196450791424https://twitter.com/egenfeldt/status/638273655592628224
You can’t help wondering who in their right mind would think something like this was OK. But when you think about it, the Dutch still think Zwarte Piet isn’t racist.
With the backlash the video game has now received, the company is offering everyone a chance to see what the hoopla is about with a discount on the purchase price. Gotta give it to this company—it’s striking while the iron is hot.