Squad 22: ZOV, a tactical RTS that appears to have the official support of the Russian military, has appeared on Steam, and although it’s free to play, that very fact is arguably pretty concerning.
As spotted by the folks at Simulation Daily, the game claims to be based on the “real wartime experience of living Russian veterans of war in Ukraine”. Not only that, but Squad 22: ZOV‘s developers say it’s “officially recommended by the Russian military” as a basic training tool.
In gameplay terms, Squad 22: ZOV is a tactical strategy game in which you must issue orders to your squad, presumably as they invade Ukrainian towns and villages and ransack the homes of innocent civilians. It’s not the best look in the world for Steam, I’d argue.
Tellingly, developer SPN Studio and publisher Zarobana Entertainment say that the game offers the chance to “delve into the complexities of the 2014 and 2022-2024 events through compelling campaigns”. I’m not sure if it’s deliberate that the date range doesn’t include the current year.
In case you’re not aware, those dates refer to the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, then 2022’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, referred to by Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a “special military operation”. It’s not exactly the most creative euphemism in the world.
Said invasion led to various studios voicing their opposition to Russia in several ways, with companies like Games Workshop, Bloober Team, and CD Projekt halting sales in Russia and Belarus owing to the event.
The two studios say the game gives you the opportunity to “gain insight into the perspectives of those who lived through these periods, understanding how these events shaped their lives and opinions”.
Of course, I highly doubt that Squad 22: ZOV includes any Ukrainian viewpoints on the situation; given that it’s endorsed by the Russian military, I can’t imagine that organization condoning any kind of game that attempts to be that even-handed.
As if all of this wasn’t bad enough, Squad 22: ZOV also utilizes generative AI, and the game’s description of the way in which this was achieved is a head-scratcher.
SPN Studio says “some 2D images in game where [sic] pre-rendered with usage of AI as a base for work of our 2D artists”, with those images “later drawn-over in order to make them geniue [sic] art”. I don’t think that’s how “genuie” art works.
We’ve reached out to Valve for comment on this story and will let you know as soon as we hear anything back.
