The treatment of warfare in video games has long been a touchy subject. Some accuse fun, addicting war games of glorifying conflict and downplaying historical tragedies.
Last year, the game Battlefield 1 had to do an awkward dance between making a blockbuster-selling fun game, and paying reverence to the horrendous nature of World War 1. The compromise was a somber, reverent single player juxtaposed with a cartoonishly chaotic, yet highly entertaining multiplayer. The game was both beloved by gamers and did gangbuster sales, but was hardly a touching homage to the millions of fallen servicemen.
At least Battlefield 1 had the separation of a century and no living war veterans. The latest controversy of the treatment of warfare in video games is far more touchy.
Last week Syrian Warfare was released on the online video game marketplace Steam. The real-time strategy game puts the player in the center of the ongoing Syrian civil war, letting players pick a faction and do battle in country’s bombed-out cities. The game strips the war of its humanitarian aspects, focusing strictly on the military struggle. No civilians, just soldiers. Although there are some political gameplay elements like enemy suicide bombers.
For some this game has crossed lines well beyond the Battlefield, as the Syrian War isn’t some distant memory of the history books, but a real-time horror playing out in the headlines. It’s an argument between those who believe games should have limitations and ethical guidelines, and those who believe developers should be free to push the boundaries of the taboo.
There have been plenty of modern combat games, set in Middle Eastern countries, but few have the specificity and baggage of Syrian Warfare.
Despite the backlash to the game’s concept, Syrian Warfare was highly praised on Steam. With 371 user reviews, the game received a “very positive” rating. In creating strategy warfare game, the developer, a Russian studio called CatsWhoPlay, did their job well.
But on Wednesday the game was abruptly removed from the Steam. According to CatsWhoPlay, the takedown was over a copyright dispute. The developer has appealed to Steam to reinstate the game, and says they are willing to defend their “honor and dignity” in court if necessary. The developer is speculating that the copyright claim was actually made in the name of GFI Russia, the maker of a similar game called Warfare, set in Saudi Arabia, by someone upset over the game’s dicey content.
We reached out to both CatsWhoPlay and CFI and will update the story if we hear back from either.
One vocal user on the Steam forums is claiming responsibility for the takedown and implied it was retribution for the game’s politics. The user, Zoltan, started a thread titled “I am horrified to see this game.”
“This is one of our worlds worst acts of humanity as a country is destroyed and so many lives lost and families displaced,” Zoltan wrote. “Anyone who understands what happened would puke when seeing this game.”
Zoltan went on to imply that he/she was instrumental in removing the game from Steam.
“I warned you all from the beginning that I was going to do something about t and I did. It could be that all of your behavior in these forums have actually convinced Steam to remove it. Great thanks to those who stood the same ground I did in exposing this outrage. This is not my first rodeo”
Other users on the thread did not agree with Zoltan’s activism.
“WW2 killed millions of people in horrific ways,” another Steam user replied. “Yet there are thousands of WW2 games out there. Whether you agree with the devs point of view or not is up to you, but it doesn’t mean that their game shouldn’t be published because it hurts your e-feelings.”
The game was also criticized on the forums as Russian propaganda. As the game was created by a Russian developer, it would almost inevitably be more sympathetic to the Russian mission, and by extension their ally, the Assad regime. The game lets you play as both the Russians and the Syrian army.
There are certainly aspects to the game’s marketing images that appear as pro-Russian propaganda.
American war games like Call of Duty also have been criticized for being pro-war and American propaganda.
But a political agenda does not mean a game should be taken off a platform. The matter is an ethical one about when it is appropriate to make a war game, and which wars are appropriate to “game-ify.” These are issues the Steam store has shied away from. There rules regarding which games are allowed on the store mostly cover porn and technical considerations.
Without Steam as the gatekeeper, perhaps it’s best to let the market decide. If the game is so truly offensive and heinous, people simply won’t buy it. But based on early reviews, the quality of the game will make it difficult for gamers to pass up.
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