Guantanamo Bay Video Game Is Cancelled, So Everybody Can Stop Being Angry
"Rendition: Guantanamo," the British video game purportedly being developed for the XBox360 featuring a Gitmo detainee "fighting back" against his captors, has been nixed by its developer. That was quick!
The announcement of the game caused a stir on the web yesterday, with the Weekly Standard launching a protest campaign encouraging readers to e-mail Microsoft and T-Enterprise, the out-of-its-depth company that had hired actual Gitmo detainee Moazzam Begg as a consultant on the game. Today, T-Enterprise released a statement explaining that the fact that they'd hired an alleged former Al Qaeda operative to consult for a game in which a terror detainee at Guantanamo Bay escapes and fights back against his captors was in no way intended to be a commentary on "the British and American troops that fight the war against terrorism to make the world a safer place." Sadly, though, they've pulled out of the project, which was obviously never a real project to begin with because there's no way in hell Microsoft would have gone along with it.
Official Statement Regarding Rendition: Guantanamo – 3 June, 2009
In recent days, much has been made of the involvement of T-Enterprise in relation to an X-Box 360 game entitled Rendition: Guantanamo. As a reputable and highly regarded firm amongst professionals and clients alike, we would like to take this opportunity to clarify a few issues that have emerged in the wake of press coverage in the United States.
Unfortunately, much of the speculation regarding the game itself made by various publications and websites has been inaccurate and ill informed. Based on a simple teaser trailer that actually revealed little of the game, many conclusions were reached that have absolutely no foundation whatsoever. It was never designed to be "propaganda" or "a recruiting tool for terrorism". Neither was it designed to glamorise terrorism as has been reported.
First and foremost, the main character was NOT Moazzam Begg. Instead, his name was Adam. He happened to be involved in a case of mistaken identity and so was never a terrorist. T-Enterprise is against all forms of terrorism and would never seek to advocate otherwise. Furthermore, Guantanamo was to be a mercenary run institution and so there would have been NO American military personnel killed within the game. Again, we support the British and American troops that fight the war against terrorism to make the world a safer place and would not make a game that said otherwise.
Having clarified our position on terrorism, I would now like to refute all suggestions that the game was in any way linked to Al Qaeda. 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 video game 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.
Should you have any questions regarding this statement then please contact our press office for clarification.
Zarrar Chishti
Director, T-Enterprise