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Ubisoft apologizes for The Division 2 email promising 'a real government shutdown'

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"This was a grave breakdown in process."

According to a number of people on reddit and Twitter, Ubisoft sent out a marketing email for The Division 2 earlier today which prompted a quick retraction. The email was an invitation to the game's private beta, with the subject line: "Come see what a real government shutdown looks like in the Private Beta". 

Not long after the email was issued, the publisher sent a retraction. "A marketing email promoting Tom Clancy's The Division 2 was sent in error today. This was a grave breakdown in process and we apologize for this error and the offensive subject line of the email.

"We recognize the very real impact of the United States government shut down on thousands of people and did not intend to make light of the situation."

Despite holding the Tom Clancy license and regularly publishing Tom Clancy games about US government operatives and interventions, Ubisoft has long worked to distance itself from politics. Ubisoft Massive COO Alf Condelius said last October that the company "cannot be openly political in our games" due to it being bad for business. The company's CEO Yves Guillemot has previously said that while Ubisoft's games are political, they're political neutral. 

Shaun Prescott
Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.