"Bethesda doesn't develop games to make specific statements or incite political discussions. "At the time none of us expected that the game would be seen as a comment on current issues, but here we are," Hines says. "We don't feel it's a reach for us to say Nazis are bad and un-American, and we're not worried about being on the right side of history here" Wolfenstein II's American setting was established when the previous game was still in early development, when the team was planning out the trilogy's story arc. Hines is in no way claiming that Bethesda was somehow prescient enough to foresee the troubling events happening in the US and build a game around them. Our campaign leans into that sentiment, and it unfortunately happens to highlight current events in the real world." "So the idea of #NoMoreNazis in America is, in fact, what the entire game (and franchise) is about.
" freeing America is the first step to freeing the world," says Hines. The upcoming Wolfenstein II, which launches at the end of the month, continues the alternate history story of 2014 outing The New Order and moves the action to a Nazi-occupied America.Īs BJ Blazkowicz, players rally a resistance and attempt to liberate the nation - putting the anti-Nazi theme seen in the game's timely marketing at the centre of the game. We don't feel it's a reach for us to say Nazis are bad and un-American, and we're not worried about being on the right side of history here."Īs Hines says, Wolfenstein games have always centred around a man helping to save the world from Nazi oppression. We aren't going to shy away from what the game is about.
"Wolfenstein has been a decidedly anti-Nazi series since the first release more than 20 years ago. "We're certainly aware of current events in America and how they relate to some of the themes in Wolfenstein II," he tells. Pete Hines, VP for PR and marketing at Bethesda, explains this marketing approach. Having already established the #NoMoreNazis, the official Twitter account posted a striking 'Not My America' short trailer with the message: Make America Nazi-Free Again. Bethesda is marketing the new Wolfenstein by directly attacking the apparent rise of the alt-right and neo-nazis in the US.