The Ukrainian government-run Center for Countering Disinformation have released a warning about a new free-to-play shooter, Squad 22: ZOV, which they say is a blaring propaganda instrument for the Russian military that “mythologises” the country’s invasion and bombardment of Ukraine since 2022. The accusation actually dates back to February this year, but it has resurfaced and picked up pace online now that Squad 22 is on sale via Steam. Valve have yet to comment.
Squad 22: ZOV certainly makes no secret of its affiliations. According to the Steam page, it’s “designed with insights from Russian veterans and active soldiers” and “is officially recommended by the Russian Military for use as a basic infantry tactic manual for cadet and Yunarmy training” – Yunarmy being short for Russia’s state-funded Young Army Cadets National Movement.
On the official website, it’s further described as being “developed with information support by The Main Military-Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”. Developers SPN Studio cite several military consultants, including a soldier who fought in the “SMO region” between 2014 and 2024 – SMO being short for “Special Military Operation”, the Putin regime’s cute little safeword for their perverse and stupid invasion, which has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths on both sides.
The developers have responded to the accusations of being stooges for the Russian military on Xitter. They appear to be enjoying the adverse reaction, predictably describing it as “free marketing” and inviting people to “put our team on Mirotvorets”, the online repository of “enemies of Ukraine” set up by Ukrainian politician Georgy Tuka back in 2014. They also post a fair bit in support of Russia’s assault. Of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent declaration that Ukraine has no plans to capitulate to Russia, the developers comment snidely: “meaning, we will have a lot of content to make more missions in our game”.
All of which makes me wonder what, exactly, Valve’s policy is towards naked state-backed propaganda games on Steam, of which there are more than a few. According to the developer Twitter feed, Squad 22: ZOV passed Steam moderation on 15th May. For all the bragging about Russian heroism on social media, the game’s creators strike a timid stance on the Steam page, promising only to “delve into the complexities of the 2014 and 2022-2024 events” and “gain insight into the perspectives of those who lived through these periods, understanding how these events shaped their lives and opinions”. I wonder how much, if at all, they had to tweak that wording to satisfy Valve’s moderators.
Valve don’t explicitly prohibit state-sponsored propaganda on their Steamworks submission page, though they do prohibit hate speech, “libelous or defamatory statements”, “content that violates the laws of any jurisdiction in which it will be available”, and “content that is patently offensive or intended to shock or disgust viewers”. If they did ban games that explicitly advance the interests of national militaries, they presumably would have taken down the page for America’s Army: Proving Grounds – the official FPS of the US Army, live on Steam since 2015 – and possibly also Pandemic’s Full Spectrum Warrior, a 2004 tactics game which describes the U.S. Army as “the most powerful ground force in the entire world” and began life as a military training aid.
I make those last comparisons not for the sake of some whatabouttery argument that every side is as bad as the other – amongst the hairs we might split, neither Full Spectrum Warrior nor America’s Army: Proving Grounds is explicitly set in an on-going war, with the prospect of DLC obnoxiously riding on the delaying of a peace settlement – but simply as a reminder that connections between military organisations and the video games industry run deep. Squad 22: ZOV is a real piece of work, but it’s far from an anomaly.
I’ve emailed Valve for comment and will update this piece as and when I receive one. In the meantime, perhaps you’d like to play the demo for Hollow Home, a Ukrainian-made RPG about the occupation of Mariupol, or check out Frogwares’ recent remaster of The Sinking City, or have a browse of the winning entries to last week’s Indie Cup Ukraine competition. Thanks to Game Informer for passing this on.
