9. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ‘Aug Lives Matter’ controversy

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the slightly disappointing sequel to 2011’s superb Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and is set in a dystopian future world in which “augmented” humans, who have special powers like enhanced vision or strength, are discriminated against. And one piece of promotional artwork for the game (see above) was a source of controversy this year, as it shows a protest being held in Moscow and a banner that reads “Aug Lives Matters”, which makes quite a bit of sense in the context of the game, but did rub some people the wrong way as this seemed to appropriate the “Black Lives Matter” movement even if the game’s makers vehemently denied this on Twitter.

In the end this seemed to be more of an unfortunate coincidence than anything else, though, and even if Mankind Divided’s creators could have been more sensitive about their artwork, the game should still be commended for tackling difficult social issues like discrimination in its sci-fi cyberpunk world.

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