Victoria 3 is going to be released some time in 2022 and the medieval simulator is not pulling any punches: In the game, you will be able to own slaves.
So, we live in a pretty sensitive culture, right? I'm sure you noticed. Now, the game developer Paradox must've just thought f*ck it, because their upcoming game Victoria III is going to include slavery. Yup, the full on exploitation and abuse of workers, which is the backbone of America, will be a part of the game.
In fact, Paradox is well aware of the United States' dependency on slavery, because, within the game, the US nation will have slavery set as its default mode of operation.
Victoria 3 Will Feature Slavery and Lets You Own Slaves
Since this is a rather delicate topic, Paradox have, of course, come out with a statement explaining themselves:
Slavery is, obviously, a horrific crime against humanity and precisely for this reason, many games that have a slavery-related setting or mechanics will either leave it out of the game or abstract it into something that’s less ‘on the nose’ (for example by simply applying some form of economic bonus at the expense of decreased stability). For Victoria 3, we don’t think these options work for us for two main reasons.The first reason is that as I mentioned before, it was an important political issue of the day and was a major catalyst for several significant conflicts, most notably the American Civil War which would be bizarrely contextless if slavery did not play a significant role in the game. The other, and most important reason, is that through our Pop system we are trying to represent every individual human on the planet from 1836, so what statement would we be making if we simply wrote all enslaved individuals out of history, or reduced them into an abstract set of modifiers?Instead, our aim is to try and represent the institution, systems and causes of slavery, as well as the people who lived under and fought against it, as close to history as we can get it. We simply believe this to be the most respectful way for us to handle this topic, as well as the way that’s most true to the game Victoria 3 aspires to be.
Honestly, I respect developer Paradox for their decision. Too many games are being cute when it comes to real issues, while we're fine with mowing down people in the thousands in shooters. How is it not weird to upgrade your guns and obsess over the most efficient attachments to kill somebody, but it's then an issue when slavery is part of a game? We've become desensitized towards the wrong things and are overly alert in areas where proper representation and treatment of the subject is actually a good thing.
If you're not familiar with Victoria 3, then, well... best to watch rather than having to read, right? Here's one of the devs monthly updates:
There is no release date for Victoria 3 yet, but it is expected to be released in 2022, and the game will be coming to PC only. If you're impatient, then Crusader Kings III is definitely down the same alley and worth your time: The latest Crusader Kings got rave reviews and is as deep of a simulator as you'll find. In fact, it's probably the definition of time sink. I recommend it.
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