Yes, but the bombs would have dropped regardless. So still the same end result.

Supposedly, the game was supposed to have a lot more atmospheric storytelling. Radios playing in the background, with news reports about rising tensions between the US and some nuclear state. Newspapers left laying around with headlines of nuclear war brewing. TVs playing with reporters talking about some country (Iran or North Korea, maybe?) developing nukes.

These were supposed to be scattered all over the place in ways that the player would obviously cross paths with them. The cult was less “doomsday prepping for no reason” and more “doomsday prepping because they think it’s soon”.

But Ubisoft being Ubisoft, they cut a lot of content because they wanted to launch the game sooner.