Medal of Honor Warfighter developers hired SEAL Team 6 member as consultant

Medal of Honor Warfighter developer Danger Close used military consultants in making the game, one of whom was SEAL Team 6 member Matt Bissonnette, according to a report on the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex blog.

Bissonnette has recently been the subject of controversy as the author of the memoir No Easy Day, a firsthand account of the Navy SEAL raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden last May. The book was published earlier this month under the pseudonym "Mark Owen," the same name Bissonnette used for his contributions to Warfighter, according to Hero Complex. The U.S. Department of Defense threatened Bissonnette with legal action because he failed to clear the book with the Department to make sure it does not contain any sensitive national-security information.

Speaking with the LA Times, EA spokesman Jeff Brown confirmed that Bissonnette had "input" on Warfighter, but that "EA did not directly remunerate Mark Owen" for his work. According to one of the LA Times' sources, EA instead paid a third party, a company called Silent R that Bissonnette reportedly owns. Brown told the LA Times that EA hired Silent R to "produce a series of promotional videos on authentic combat experiences in the war on terror."

Warfighter's "SEAL Team 6 Combat Training Series" clips are the videos in question; the first one focused on Navy SEAL snipers. Danger Close prides itself on the use of military consultants, including Navy SEALs and other Tier 1 Operators; the Warfighter website highlights their contributions as allowing Medal of Honor to "[bring] authenticity to life" like "no other gaming brand."

We reached out to both Electronic Arts and Silent R for this story, but had received no responses by press time.

Update: An EA representative told Polygon, "EA does not have a business relationship with Mark Owen." The spokesperson added, "[We consulted] nearly two dozen real world Operators, active and retired. Some are paid for their consulting services, while others offer their insight pro bono." He also confirmed that EA contracted Silent R to produce the "SEAL Team 6 Combat Training Series" videos.