Yes, and they're not there to guard your Xbox game console. You get to play as a Blackwater operative protecting a fictional North African town from two warlords. It sounds almost like a Blackwhawk Down video game, with the difference of having Private Military Contractors, rather than soldiers as characters in the game.

Developed by Zombie Studios, and published by 505 Games, the game is said to be supporting both Kinect and actual game controllers when played. It was developed in consultations with Blackwater Founder and former CEO, Erik Prince, a former Navy Seal, and controversial figure. He reportedly divested himself of the company, which now has rebranded itself as Xe Services. The Blackwater trademark for airsoft is now held by the French company, Cybergun.

"This game and its immersive Kinect-based approach will give players the chance to experience what it is like to be on a Blackwater team on a mission without being dropped into a real combat situation," Prince said in a statement through 505 Games.

According to Kotaku Australia, the game is competently made, and you get to play from the perspective of "mercenaries" or "private military contractors", depending on how you want to call them, as former Blackwater operatives were actually part of developing the game --- giving insights on how weapons are used and tactical movements. You get to play four different roles from a sniper to an assault personnel.

I have not seen an actual trailer or game demo, so I cannot say if this goes against documented main role of Blackwater; that of being a security company in hotspots around the world and they're not authorised to go into offensive missions. If they do in this game, then it may speak a lot about the workings Blackwater, which goes beyond what its "corporate objectives" state.

(Screenshot of the Blackwater video game by Kotaku Australia)

Admittedly, the game is more about the legend of Blackwater before it became mired in various controversies in Iraq and arms smuggling. So it gives it more a positive view of the company rather than giving it very neutral impression, no negative viewpoints here and no shooting of civilians.

For a very controversial company, Blackwater the video game unsurpringly gets mired in controversy too. Critics say it is "terribly offensive" and should not be turned into a video game, especially that it is offensive to the families of the 17 Iraqi civilians who were killed by Blackwater operatives in 2007. The company settled out of court with the families.

Will this game garner some success given the controversies and bad image it developed over the years? We will find out soon when it gets released. Even in airsoft circles, the Blackwater brand has faded away when before it did generate a lof of interest and Blackwater merchandise was famous among players until the issues about the company came into fore. But since then rarely do we see Blackwater patches, stickers, and t-shirts being worn by airsoft players. They have fallen out of grace.

At least for this game, you don't get to shoot civilians.