A former Israeli soldier is developing a propaganda video game set in Gaza. It is titled Shield of David And its output is scheduled for the 7 October 2025. The developer, Ilan Razhe told the Israeli media that he wanted to tell “real facts” on the IDF soldiers used in the strip, with the aim of humanizing and documenting their “painful truth”. In the trailer published on his YouTube channel (over 400,000 subscribers), the comments – few, about twenty – immediately appear divisive: there are those who pour the project, also with bot profiles, and those who instead react with disgust, asking “Do you shoot hungry children?”. In the video you can see soldiers run and shoot in a destroyed city that closely recalls the devastation currently underway in Gaza.
As reported by To Jazeerait is not yet known which platforms the game will be distributed, but Raz said she has started negotiations with two large online stores. However, an agreement would jump because of “problematic aspects” of the gameplay that the developer refused to modify. Raz also announced that he wants Offer free copies of the game to Israeli soldiers.
Second The Observerit is no coincidence that members of the IDF They have repeatedly declared that “the situation in Gaza remembers a video game”, with Palestinian civilians transformed into real targets even during exercises with drones. Shield of David can be considered a further propaganda operation implemented by Israel. For months the country has been engaged in Fake News spread campaigns, both against the UN special representative Francesca Albanese, and against the Foundation for Hind Rajab.
According to Israel in Gaza, restaurants are always full: the new video campaign published on YouTube
The intertwining between video games and propaganda
It is certainly not the first time that a video game is used for propaganda purposes, then showing off in disputes. This is the case of America’s Armycooperative video game of 2002 developed directly by the American army. These are the years of the wars in Afghanistan And, subsequently, in Iraq. According to what is reported by Ed Halter in From Sun Tzu To Xbox. War and Videogames (Thunder’s Mouth Press 2006), America’s Army was used as Recruitment campaign between American playerswith very positive results, comparable to the operation of the First World War with the posters of Uncle Sam and the inscription “I Want You for the US Army”.
Video games and propaganda | A scene from the Six Days video game in Falluja, which was harshly criticized by the Arab community.
Always from the United States, another controversial title comes: Six Days in Fallujapublished in 2023. Also in this case the theater is the war in Iraq started in 2003. As Shield of Davidthe game developed by the study based in Seattle aims to humanize American soldiers engaged in urban battles away from affections and relatives. Recall that on that occasion, the American army used the white phosphorus on civiliansas revealed by the investigation Falluja. The hidden massacre by Sigfrido Ranucci and Maurizio Torrealta.
In this speech the well -known and commercial falls within call of Duty. Beyond a narrative that spectacular the war compared to real historical events, the title of Activision was at the center of debates in 2009 due to the “No Russian” mission in the Modern Warfare 2 chapter. At that juncture, it was necessary to shoot civilians at Moscow airport as Russian terrorists and thus give a pretext to a war between the United States and Russia.
Video games against war
Although the recreational of the war in commercial video games is a bit the practice, there are several titles that over the years have tried to change the narrative, showing the most bloody sides. We are mostly talking about small productions as regards the size of the development team and budget, but of great works of courage for the topics covered. In this sense, it is worth mentioning Valiant Heartsthe Ubisoft Montpellier video game that tells the atrocities of the First World War. In this case there are no good and bad, nor enemies. In the game, an opponent’s soldier never kills himself. It only escapes from the evil of the modern war that grips men and women of Europe and the United States.
Video games and propaganda | This War of Mine does a thing as trivial as revolutionary in the videogame medium: to live the war from the point of view of civilians.
There is then This War of Mine of 11bit Studio, survival Polish production of 2015 set in a context inspired by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the nineties. For the first time in the history of the videogame medium, those who play do not command a soldier, but a handful of civilians – including children – forced to survival. A poignant title, which manages to immerse in the bleak context of contemporary war. Dutiful mention also a Spec Ops: The LineBritish third -person shooter published in 2012, who puts the use of white phosphorus on the civilian population in the center in a dystopian Dubai, in addition to the manipulation to which the soldiers are subject. Theme that acts as a pillar also in the recent Remake Metal Gear Solid Delta.
In the end, Another powerful criticism of war comes from Palestine With the videogame prototype Palestine Skating Game. At the moment available only as demo, in the game the protagonists fight for a better future in Gaza through Roller and graffiti skates. The title is available for free on itch.io, but a small offer can be made. The revenues are used by the team to support Palestinian and Lebanese professionals and professionals involved by the current humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
