Gamifying Extremism: Refighting (And Rewriting) The Balkan Wars As A Video Game, 19 December 2020

...Several video games can be found on the Internet that simulate military conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, and some of the missions take place in locations where war crimes were committed. The most popular game platform in Serbia is Arma Srbija, where users gather to play simultaneously in real time on the Internet...

The games are player-produced modifications -- or "mods" -- of Arma, a series of tactical military games produced by Bohemia Interactive, based in the Czech Republic.

A spokesman told RFE/RL's Balkan Service that "we're not specifically aware that there is a mod based on conflicts in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we'd also not be surprised if it exists."

...As the popularity of such mods increases, and as extremists increasingly incorporate elements of video games into their propaganda (and even into their attacks), the trend has left some wondering whether gaming that attempts to rewrite history should be banned...

"If someone makes a mod for a video game that gives an interpretation of a war crime, it should be viewed, in my opinion, the same as if someone published a book in which he gives an interpretation of that same war crime," [Djordje Krivokapic, co-founder of the SHARE Foundation] said. "If such an interpretation is contrary to positive legal regulations, if it calls for the spread of racial or religious hatred, then such a book or game must be banned in the way that such acts are prohibited."

[incl. company response]