A new game was released yesterday on Steam depicting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, claiming to be “officially recommended by the Russian Military”.
The free-to-play Squad 22: ZOV is a tactical shooter from developer SPN Studio and publisher Zarobana Entertainment and is the only release from either company.
The game has been widely reported as Russian propaganda, raising questions on how it’s been allowed on Valve’s Steam platform.
According to the game’s Steam description, it allows players to experience the “complexities of the 2014 and 2022-2024 events through compelling campaigns”. In 2014, President Putin signed the Crimea annexation, while 2022-2024 refers to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
While the game purports to be historically accurate through its basis on “people’s experience and opinions during specific historical conflicts”, it has also been “officially recommended by the Russian Military for use as a basic infantry tactic manual for cadet and Yunarmy training”.
The modern Yunarmy, or the Young Army Cadets National Movement, was set up in 2015 by Putin to encourage young people to join the military. Now it appears officially recommending video games is part of this process. As shared on the game’s website, Squad 22: ZOV was exhibited at the Army 2024 event.
The game’s website also boasts special military consultants, including “Hero of the Russian Federation” Vlad Golovin who commanded a platoon in the siege of Mariupol. This is included as a playable mission in the game, as well as the Russian Spring of 2014.
The ZOV in the title refers to the use of these letters on military equipment to show support for the invasion.
The game also allows players to “rescue hostages” and “capture prisoners”, presumably from a Russian perspective, as well as “encounter and interact with civilians”.
Incidentally, the developer has also admitted on the Steam page to using AI “as a base for work of our 2D artists and later drawn-over in order to make them genuine art”.
Sources told Eurogamer the game presents players as Russian soldiers “liberating” real-life Ukrainian territories, adding the free-to-play game also includes paid content for specific campaigns. That means Valve is financially enabling a military-affiliated project, though it’s unclear if the Russian Military is being indirectly funded through the developer’s affiliation with the organisation.
The Steam page itself has become a hub for coordinated propaganda and hate speech. The game has a “mixed” reaction on the platform and recent reviews are predominantly negative, but older positive reviews include pro-Russian sentiment and disturbing comments.
A social media account linked on Steam to the game’s developer includes a post suggesting Ukraine’s refusal to surrender will provide “a lot of content to make more missions in our game” (thanks Simulation Daily).
Further, as spotted by Game Informer, the Ukrainian Centre for Countering Disinformation has already had its eye on Squad 22: ZOV, describing it as “a key element in brainwashing the population, reflecting the Russian government’s version of events regarding the invasion of Ukraine and glorifying military service”.
Back in 2018, Steam stated its approach to content on its platform was “to allow everything onto the Steam Store, except for things that we decide are illegal, or straight up trolling”. Instead, its focus is on giving users “control over what kinds of content they see”.
Eurogamer has contacted Valve for details on what moderation checks were taken ahead of Squad 22: ZOV’s release, and whether the game will remain on the platform.
Valve has recently removed some controversial games from its Steam platform, including a game which described itself as “address[ing] the Israel x Palestine conflict from a Palestinian perspective” that was removed from sale in the UK following demands by the UK’s counter-terrorism unit.
More recently, the game No Mercy was removed following widespread criticism of its content depicting explicit sexual violence.