Why are War Thunder images appearing in the background of Russian propaganda clips?
Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in the region has had knock-on effects all over the world. It's crossed-over into gaming from the start, with Ukraine's foreign minister calling for various big publishers and platform-holders to boycott Russia (most of which have(opens in new tab)), and most recently a controversy over Atomic Heart, a game of Russian origin that, say detractors(opens in new tab), ultimately helps fuel the Russian war machine.
A new and confusing front opened up over the weekend. War Thunder, a game best-known for its fans' habit of leaking classified military documents to win arguments(opens in new tab) (over and(opens in new tab) over again(opens in new tab)), has turned up in the background of a Russian propaganda video. The clip, circulated widely on social media by eastern European media outlet Nexta.tv, features various shots of Russian troops doing Russian troop things, being inspected, awarded medals and so on. It's fairly standard patriotic fare for the home crowd.
Around 15 seconds into the clip, however, there is a shot of Sergei Shoigu, Russia's minister of defence (the figure on the left), and colonel general Rustam Muradov (right), sitting in front of at least two propaganda-style posters that prominently feature official War Thunder art.
Shoigu inspected the grouping of troops «Vostok» in the South-Donetsk direction, according to Russian propagandists. pic.twitter.com/Nn6kbGB40UMarch 4, 2023
War Thunder's developer, Gaijin Entertainment, has its headquarters in Cyprus, but was founded in Moscow (where it still has offices), and runs studios in Germany, Hungary, and Latvia. Its unquestionable Russian links has led to the claim it is somehow participating in or
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