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According to Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Russia’s video game industry was the world’s eighth-largest in 2021, boasting revenues of $2.7 billion. More than half of the Russian population, 53%, were active gamers. However, the sector faced a drastic 80% contraction amid the full-scale war. Many game creators and developers ceased operations in Russia. Transactions involving the Russian ruble were denied, and Russians were barred from participating in global gaming tournaments. Giants in the industry, like EA Games, known for The Sims, withdrew from the Russian market; their products vanished from both physical and online stores. The developers behind the shooter series Call of Duty also halted sales in Russia, a step mirrored by the publishers of GTA, Minecraft, and CS:GO, extending their withdrawal to Belarus as well. The renowned gaming store, Steam, stopped accepting payments made with Russian bank cards. Yet, in the face of these challenges, Russia persists in developing and promoting its propaganda-infused games while pirating international titles. And they are disseminating their agenda through platforms that are purportedly no longer accessible. We analyze how Russian propaganda seeps into video games and whether it is possible to do anything about it.
A report from DFC Intelligence indicates that there are nearly 3.1 billion global video game consumers. Moscow, tracing back to the Soviet era, has portrayed itself as a forerunner in offering gaming and recreational activities to the youth. Tetris, one of the earliest games, originated in Russia. In a recent twist, propagandists lamented the purported ban of all things Russian, including Tetris, in Ukraine. “Is the most popular, harmless toy going to be banned in Ukraine?” The propagandists asked, implying to paint Ukraine as a nation where legal norms override common sense.
As computer accessibility surged, Russian games, imbued with propaganda, have evolved. Moscow’s financial backing supports several Russian developers, enabling the infusion of propagandist stereotypes into virtual narratives. One striking instance is the anti-Ukrainian game Maidan.Ru, which portrays Ukraine during the Euromaidan as a dystopian police state engulfed in a “civil war,” absent of governmental structure, and mired in chaos and anarchy.
Why Video Games Have Become Instruments of Propaganda
Games can powerfully sway public opinions, mold perceptions, and instill certain messages in the players’ minds. Developers can construct any narrative, and players are inclined to accept it and operate within the limits set by the rules of the game. Russian video games, like any other games, offer alternate realities that manipulate factual events, imprinting fabricated narratives into players’ memories as tangible experiences.
Joseph Brown, an assistant professor at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, spent five years teaching about video game development in Russia, shared his insights with The New York Times on witnessing the country’s use of games for disseminating propaganda.
In Russia, video games wield both political and economic influence. In a 2023 meeting of the supervisory board of the Russia — Country of Opportunities organization, Putin emphasized the industry’s role in personal and societal development. He also called the industry a huge multi-billion dollar business and called for it to be taken “more seriously.” Highlighting the industry’s economic potential, the dictator’s supporters explained that one in four Russians are active online gamers. A little later, Vladimir Putin instructed to ensure the promotion of Russian video games to the BRICS markets, signaling the government’s move to promote local software in Brazil, India, China, and South Africa.
Aaron Delwiche, an associate professor of communications at the University of Texas, authored a paper titled Video Games as a Vehicle for Political Propaganda. He posited that due to their interactive nature, video games possess a remarkable capability to change minds. As a result of this, game developers possess the ability to generate game situations grounded in factual experiences, however, with the freedom to embellish the narrative with unique components. And this often happens with games based on wars, military campaigns, the history of terrorist organizations, etc., as such events and personalities can generally resonate with society, and developers use this to increase sales.
Delwiche identifies four i’s — signs of games evolving into propaganda mediums: total immersion in a propaganda-infused context, intense involvement in the gameplay, identification of the player as an integral part of the game’s narrative, and interactive elements that let players “decide fate” within previously set limits.
In the context of immersion in a gaming context, the professor underscores that games demand and invariably capture heightened player attention. Immersion in virtual reality offers individuals a distinct, engrossing experience, as games stimulate various perception channels.
Players, on average, dedicate 8 hours and 45 minutes weekly to gaming. The intensity of this engagement is dictated by the duration a player can remain focused on the screen. In essence, it’s about the length of time spent engrossed in gameplay. Consequently, in an attempt to stimulate “motivation for long-term interaction,” developers employ contemporary technologies to bolster gameplay and enhance player-game interaction. They focus on how games engage with players, the features provided, and the breadth of options available to gamers. Elements like well-defined objectives, player feedback mechanisms, such as hints to facilitate task completion, and vibrant audiovisual content are integral in motivating extended playtime.
People sometimes identify themselves as part of the game environment. This is largely attributed to the prevalence of first-person gameplay, where players associate the in-game character’s motions, gestures, and potential facial expressions with their own. Players are immersed through sensory perceptions like sight, sound, and touch and perceive the game character’s actions as extensions of their own. This occurrence is referred to as the “presence effect” in social communications. It denotes a player’s perceived personal involvement in the on-screen events, akin to journalistic strategies that utilize first-person visuals to immerse and concentrate readers’ or viewers’ attention.
Video games are adept at immersing players in their narratives, an attribute exploited by entities aiming to transform these platforms into propaganda instruments. At times, video games can outperform traditional media in propagating specific narratives. This is because players are not passive recipients; they see, hear, feel, and make decisions within the game, resulting in a uniquely individualized experience.
The Problem With the Atomic Heart Propaganda Game
On February 21, 2023, just days ahead of the anniversary marking Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian firm Braindev LLC (formerly Mundfish LLC) unveiled the video game Atomic Heart. A report by business outlet Ain.capital disclosed that the game received financial backing from Russian Gazprom. The OSINT analysts at Molfar delved into the ownership structure of Braindev and those involved in the game’s creation. Their investigation unearthed ties with several other influential government-affiliated Russian entities, including Mail.ru Group, Channel One, the United Russia party, and even the so-called LPR and DPR terrorist organizations.
Braindev LLC, the game’s developer, is entwined in a complex network of relationships with Russian corporations, individuals, legal entities, political parties, and terrorist groups, including the so-called LPR and DPR.
Atomic Heart is promoted as a retro-futuristic title, drawing its aesthetic and thematic inspirations from the USSR. It unfolds an alternate 1950s narrative where the Soviet Union, boasting scientific and technological prowess, emerges from World War II as an absolute winner. In this reimagined history, the nation advances to develop robots intended to supplant human labor. This innovation is portrayed as a stepping stone towards establishing an idyllic society rooted in collectivism, dubbed “Kollektiv 2.0” — a clear nod to the supposed revival of the USSR often discussed in Russian propaganda. However, the plot thickens as robots eventually rebel against their human masters and overrun the entire Soviet Union, prompting KGB officer Sergei Nechayev to intervene.
This is how the game imagines a bright collectivist future. Photo: a screenshot from the game. Molfar
“You can imagine what you’d really feel [in the] Soviet [Union]. It’s a story like no other story,” said the game’s creator Richard Levelord Gray in a video announcement for the game.
Yet, beyond its evident USSR thematic elements, the game is riddled with insinuations pointing toward Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. Notable is the inclusion of a drone carrying a pot of geraniums, an apparent reference to the kamikaze drone Geran, modeled after the Iranian Shahed, employed by Russia against Ukraine resulting in thousands of casualties.
Screenshot from Twitter. Molfar
Furthermore, the game integrates images of Ukrainian cities — Mariupol, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia — depicting them as parts of the still “united” Soviet Union.
Screenshot from propaganda Telegram channels
It also features derogatory phrases aimed at “mentally disabled Nazi pigs” and incorporates a can of minced pork enveloped in a yellow and blue wrapper.
Screenshots from anonymous Telegram channels
The incorporation of sexualized female robots sporting hairstyles reminiscent of Ukrainian politicians underscores a deliberate attempt by the developers to draw from and subsequently distort Ukrainian imagery, further fueling the underlying propagandist narrative.
Screenshot from anonymous Telegram channels
Hence, the developers of this video game tried to subtly infuse Kremlin propaganda and stereotypes propagated by Moscow for the sake of ridicule. This strategy targets not just the domestic player base but extends globally. The clear employment of the labeling and stereotyping tactic is unmistakable. A prevalent propaganda technique, it involves attributing negative connotations to a targeted phenomenon or process. This involves crafting a false portrayal guaranteed to evoke negative associations. Essentially, it’s an effort to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and paint a derogatory image of the country. The association of minced pork with Ukraine’s yellow and blue or the letter Z on a dead pig exemplifies this. Such gestures by the Russians point at their support of the aggression against Ukraine, aligning with the Kremlin’s stance.
Furthermore, this game perpetuates the portrayal of the “glorious Soviet Union” — a prosperous, technologically progressive nation that triumphed post-World War II. The game’s narrative omits the darker shades of communism, bypassing discussions of repression, mass killings, famine, and food scarcity. Read here how Russian propaganda glorifies the Soviet past to further its agenda.
Propagandists on anonymous Telegram channels weighed in on the game’s release too. They extolled the game’s innovation and uniqueness, declaring it a crowning achievement in the “Russian gaming world.” Denying allegations of propaganda and derision towards Ukrainians, they attributed such claims to fabrications by Ukraine, absolving Russians of any involvement in promoting hate speech.
“Judging by the enthusiasm with which gamers around the world have embraced the Russian novelty, Ukrainians will indeed be perceived as Nazi pigs because how can you be against this masterpiece?” they asserted on Telegram.
It’s crucial to acknowledge that this game exemplifies Russian imperialism at its core. It sanctions the extermination of Ukrainians, the overtaking of Ukrainian cities, and the endorsement of occupation and sham referendums. Although not singular in its distortion of Ukrainian reality, its prominence has been unmatched since the beginning of the full-scale war. A catalog of similar propaganda-laden games post-Ukraine’s independence is available for further reading.
Russians Spreading Propaganda through Games
The alignment with Moscow’s propaganda isn’t confined to game developers but extends to Russian gamers. Molfar’s open-source intelligence experts have uncovered numerous instances of pro-Kremlin propaganda in games like Minecraft, Roblox, the Russian versions of World of Tanks and World of Warships, Fly Corp, Armored Warfare, and War Thunder, among others. There was a general sentiment of praising the Soviet Union over other countries in almost all of them. These games were not created by Russian companies, but individual Russian players concoct and disseminate propaganda narratives on the games’ servers.
In Minecraft, a Microsoft-owned game, Russian gamers, coordinating via the Russian social network Vk.com, recreated the battle for Soledar in the Donetsk Region, a territory seized by Russian forces in January.
Screenshot from Twitter. Molfar
A Russian version of the World of Tanks game staged a reenactment of the 1945 Moscow tank parade on the 78th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat.
Screenshot from Twitter. Molfar
In June 2023, a Roblox user orchestrated a parade featuring the Russian Interior Ministry’s Internal Troops to commemorate Russia Day.
Screenshot from Twitter. Molfar
These instances involve server games, where global users can collaborate and design diverse scenarios to accomplish specific goals. Within these gaming environments, Russians steeped in propaganda often reiterate Kremlin narratives. This occurrence, whether intentional or unintentional, stems from the pervasive influence of Russian propaganda. Observers can witness this dynamic and potentially develop adverse perceptions of Ukraine while cultivating positive images of Russia and the USSR. It’s notable that these games have either partially or entirely been suspended in the Russian market, leading users to resort to various manipulations to access them.
So, what can be done?
Recognizing the omnipresence of propaganda and scrutinizing consumed content is crucial. Even when conveyed subtly, Russia’s narratives can infiltrate minds. Seemingly innocuous or humorous content can divert attention, lowering defenses and facilitating the absorption of Russian propaganda disseminated via television, anonymous Telegram channels, and other platforms, including video games. Anti-Ukrainian sentiment is pronounced in Russian-created games and has been denounced at the state level. The Ministry of Digital Transformation, for instance, reached out to Microsoft, Sony, and Valve to limit the digital distribution of the Atomic Heart video game, which follows a Soviet intelligence officer’s exploits.
While it’s implausible to prevent Russians from producing games or extolling the Soviet Union, restricting the global accessibility of such content by highlighting its potential toxicity is achievable. Proactive measures include developing games that convey accurate narratives and adopting innovative approaches like those employed by Call of Duty, which has implemented artificial intelligence to mitigate hate speech. The objective is curbing toxic behaviors and ensuring games offer a “a fun, fair and welcoming experience for all players,” as articulated by Skynews journalists. In a similar vein, Fortnite will feature a Holocaust museum, educating players on Abdol Hossein Sardari, the Iranian ambassador who saved thousands of Jews in France by issuing passports, and other exhibits narrating the experiences of LGBTQIA+ Jews and the Black Panther tank battalion that played a role in their liberation.
