It really takes three years to notice?
Jonas Savimbi played a pretty important role in Angola’s history. He regularly fought against the Portuguese, who had colonised the country, and then also fought against the new ruling political party, the MLPA, up until his death in 2002. I’m not an expert on Angolan politics or history, but his Wikipedia page is pretty dang interesting.
He was also featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 back in 2012, as part of the Pyrrhic Victory mission which saw the player character fight alongside him. Three years later, Savimbi’s family has taken offense to the appearance, as they’re now suing Activision for 1 million euros.
In the suit, lawyer Carole Enfert explained that Savimbi was portrayed in the game as “a big halfwit who wants to kill everybody,” ignoring his history as a “political leader and strategist.” I’m struggling to think of a Call of Duty character who isn’t like that, to be fair.
In response, Activision claims that Savimbi is shown in the level to be a “good guy.” It has not commented on how it will be handling this case, however back in 2014 former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega sued the company due to the game apparently showing him commit “numerous fictional crimes.” Activision got that case thrown out, calling it “absurd,” so chances are the same will happen to this one.
We have approached Activision for comment, and will update should we hear back from it. In the meantime, why not watch Savimbi’s appearance in Black Ops 2 and come to your own conclusion?
Call of Duty maker sued by family of Angolan rebel leader [Eurogamer]
