A new report from Ukrainian research group LingvaLexa reveals how the Kremlin is weaponizing the video game industry to spread propaganda, glorify war, and militarize young audiences.
Once seen purely as entertainment, gaming has become a strategic tool of psychological manipulation—shaping how millions of young Russians and players in occupied territories of Ukraine view violence, patriotism, and the ongoing war against Ukraine. This alarming finding shows Russia’s expanding information warfare on the digital front, media reported.
According to LingvaLexa’s 2025 analytical study, Russia’s gaming sector has become an instrument of state policy— fully integrated into the Kremlin’s ideological and military agenda.
Supported by government funding and censorship regulations, developers are encouraged to create games that distort history, glorify Russian soldiers, and vilify Ukraine and the West.
In 2024, Russian ruler Vladimir Putin approved the “State Policy on Historical Enlightenment,” giving Moscow the authority to define which games are “ideologically correct.” The policy outlines plans for state-controlled gaming engines, domestic consoles, and a nationalized alternative to Steam, the global gaming platform banned in parts of Russia.
This tight state control, analysts say, has effectively transformed the games development sector into a digital propaganda machine—one that shapes cultural narratives while reinforcing Moscow’s wartime ideology.
A central component of Kremlin gaming propaganda is its effort to militarize young audiences under the guise of esports and “patriotic education.”
The youth organization Yunarmiya (Young Army), backed by the Russian Ministry of Defense, has launched esports tournaments such as CyberSpring and Yunarmiyez in the Network. These events feature globally popular titles like Dota 2, PUBG Mobile, and World of Tanks Blitz but are reframed as competitions promoting “discipline, courage, and love for the Motherland.”
“Gaming is used to blur the line between entertainment and enlistment,” notes LingvaLexa’s report. “Esports has become a recruitment pipeline rather than a pastime.”
In occupied Ukrainian regions, Russian soldiers have organized “training games” for children, teaching them to operate drones via a simulation game titled FPV Kamikadze Drone. Players learn to “target” virtual enemies with explosives—a disturbing blend of play and real-world violence.
Meanwhile, the PMC Kinder project, a propaganda initiative disguised as Minecraft modifications, introduces children to virtual combat resembling real military missions. Ukrainian soldiers are portrayed as pigs or monsters to be “executed” by players — reinforcing dehumanizing war imagery.
Propaganda in gaming does not always rely on overt messaging. Much of it is coded into design choices, visual symbols, and online community culture.
For instance, Battlestate Games, the studio behind Escape from Tarkov, has been linked to the Russian defense industry. The game reportedly includes anti-Ukrainian imagery and dialogue mocking Ukrainian soldiers.
At the same time, gaming influencers and streamers across Russian social media platforms promote the “Z” and “V” invasion symbols—emblems of Moscow’s war against Ukraine—embedding them into game streams, avatars, and chat emotes.
Online gaming communities have become echo chambers where nationalist memes, coded language, and militaristic aesthetics normalize aggression and imperial nostalgia.
“Video games can make propaganda invisible, emotional, and addictive,” said Anna Vyshnyakova, director of LingvaLexa. “That’s why it’s crucial to treat gaming as a front line of the information war.”
Beyond ideology, direct recruitment efforts have also surfaced within online gaming spaces.
The report details several cases where users posing as military recruiters or Wagner Group (PMC) members approached players in in-game chats, offering roles as drone operators or contract soldiers.
Teenagers were allegedly given “missions”—such as photographing infrastructure or sharing location data—disguised as harmless gaming challenges. These incidents blur the line between cyber play and real-world espionage, reflecting the Kremlin’s hybrid warfare strategy that fuses digital influence with covert operations.
LingvaLexa’s findings were supported by data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which recorded 1.8 million cases of extremist or hate-related content on the Steam platform in 2024, much of it in Russian-language communities.
Researchers found vast quantities of pro-war stickers, user profiles, and discussion threads glorifying Russian aggression or mocking Ukrainian victims. Some groups even sell “ZOV” avatars and mods celebrating Russian weaponry.
While Steam’s U.S.-based moderation teams have begun removing such content, the sheer scale of Russian-language participation makes enforcement difficult. The Kremlin’s move to develop its own national gaming ecosystem will likely deepen the isolation of Russian players within propaganda-saturated digital spaces.
Experts warn that Moscow’s tactics could inspire other authoritarian regimes to use gaming for influence and recruitment.
China, Iran, and North Korea have all launched state-backed games promoting nationalist ideologies or glorifying their militaries. However, Russia stands out for integrating propaganda into mainstream gaming culture rather than confining it to overtly political titles.
This makes Kremlin gaming propaganda more insidious — using familiar entertainment formats to reach global audiences and normalize distorted realities of war.
LingvaLexa calls for an urgent, international response to the weaponization of gaming. Its recommendations include:
Governments are also urged to collaborate with gaming platforms like Steam, Epic Games, and Twitch to improve detection of covert propaganda and extremist recruitment networks.
“The next generation’s worldviews are being shaped in virtual worlds,” Vyshnyakova warned. “If we don’t act now, these games will become training grounds for hate and militarization.”
The Kremlin’s use of gaming is part of a broader pattern of “cultural militarization,” where films, music, and digital media reinforce loyalty to the state and hostility toward perceived enemies.
This strategy extends Russia’s information warfare beyond traditional media, embedding ideology into interactive environments where emotional engagement is strongest.
By transforming gaming into a political instrument, Moscow ensures that its narratives live not only on screens but in the imaginations of its youth — turning leisure into indoctrination.
It’s an alarming reminder that information warfare is evolving. The battlefield now spans not just social media and traditional news but also the digital platforms where millions of young people spend their free time.
As Russia continues to refine its hybrid tactics, the international community needs to adapt—combining policy oversight with cultural awareness. Monitoring the gaming world is no longer optional; it’s a necessity for defending truth and democratic values in the digital era.
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