While researching the private military security contractor (PMSC) Blackwater USA (particularly one of their infamous massacres where Blackwater soldiers killed civilians without any provocation from the civilians) when I stumbled upon this. To my surprise it was not a joke. "Blackwater" is an actual video game developed with the help of the actual company's former CEO Erik Prince, and it was released in 2011.
According to an article from boston.com, Prince says that his goal in making this game was not to improve Blackwater's reputation. He says it's main goal is fun, or in his words, "along the lines of kids running around their neighborhood playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians" (Lang).
But these two goals seem to contradict eachother. If this game became popular among kids and teens (which it didn't) it would make the use of PMSCs such as Blackwater seem normal to many Americans. It would be just another war video game right up there with Call of Duty and Battlefield. Thus, equating PMSCs with actual troops in the eyes of Americans. Additonally, the fact that kids are intended to play this game helps Blackwater's reputation as well. After all, how bad can a company seem when your kid has fun playing their video game? If the game became popular due to how fun it was, it would equate Blackwater with the US military and associate it's brand with teens and fun; thus, improving it's reputation.
Contrary to what Mr. Prince has claimed, this game is yet another attempt of rebranding for Blackwater USA.
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