Blackwater: The Video Game (Part 2)

People who are in favor of private military security contractors (PMSCs) often make the argument that PMSCs are entirely defensive, and that they will only fire their weapon when absolutely necessary. In an interview with NPR, Patrick Kennedy, the state department official overseeing PMSCs deployed in Iraq after all reported US troops had come home, made this same argument saying, "We run... We do not stand and fight. We will execute a high-speed J-turn and we will get as far away from the attackers as we possibly can."

But, if this were true, how would you explain this trailer for the video game "Blackwater"; a video game based on the PMSC Blackwater USA and developed with the help of former CEO Erik Prince.

Yes, this is a real advertisement for a real game, based on a all too real company.

If Blackwater and other PMSCs are as defensive as Mr. Kennedy argues, then why would the CEO of a PMSC portray his own employees running towards battle (0:08), kicking down doors (0:20), and using seemingly infinite amounts of ammunition to kill countless fictional terrorists?Especially after the bad publicity Blackwater received because of the violent and tragic Nisour Square shootings, one would think he would have all the more reason to avoid portraying Blackwater as so aggressive and trigger happy.

Some may argue that he only made the game this aggressive because he wanted to make an exciting game, and that Blackwater's actual contractors aren't trigger-happy. But while yes, he did want to create an exciting game, when you think about the nature of someone working for Blackwater, it actually would make sense if they were somewhat trigger-happy. Obviously, the game exaggerates to an extent, but I wonder if PMSCs hold a similarly aggressive mindset as this game portrays. After all, Blackwater's employees are people who have signed up not for some sense of duty to their country, but rather for war itself. Additionally, a large portion of PMSCs are ex-military (either for the US or elsewhere), so I would imagine going from the offensive mindset of the US military to the supposed strictly defensive mindset of a PMSC would be incredibly difficult.

If PMSCs are prone to an aggressive war-zone state of mind, then their first instinct would be to fight rather than retreat. But, then why would Mr. Prince expose this "shoot to kill and don't check a pulse" (a quote from page 214 of Mr. Prince's book Civilian Warriors) mindset to the public? I would argue that this is because this game is just another form of brand marketing (as discussed in the previous blog), and Erik Prince is trying to appeal to people who share this aggressive mindset to increase the company's numbers.

Blackwater: The Video Game

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.