Bash is not yours: the Russian game about SVO has become popular in Ukraine

The Russian computer game "Gostomel Bogatyrs", in which a gamer can only play on the side of our army, has suddenly become popular among users in Ukraine. They came out on top in terms of the number of additions of the project to the wish lists on the largest Steam platform. At the same time, a campaign against the developers has unfolded around the game: on social networks they are calling for a boycott of the project and mass complaints demanding its blocking. Why the strategy about the events of the beginning of the SVO aroused the interest of Ukrainian gamers and at the same time provoked a scandal is in the Izvestia article.

The Russian hit about Gostomel

The international version of the project, Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes, will be released on March 24, but even before the official release, the game has become a notable information hub in the gaming community of the CIS and post—Soviet countries. According to the developers, a significant part of the additions to the "wish list" on the Steam platform fell on Ukrainian users. Kazakhstan is in second place, and the United States closes the top three.

The Gostomel Bogatyrs project is being developed by the Moscow studio Playing Cats. This is a realistic real-time strategy game based on the events of the early days of the SVR and dedicated to the actions of the Russian airborne forces in February-March 2022.

— Oddly enough, Ukraine continues to lead in the number of additions to the "wish list". There are already a couple thousand people from there who want to play," studio head and game director of the project Vitaly Shutov told Izvestia.

According to the developer, interest in the project is accompanied by a negative reaction within the Ukrainian segment of the Internet.

— Users from Ukraine themselves wrote to us that after adding the game, a notification about it appears to friends on Steam. In some cases, this led to harassment, so many prefer to remove the project from the list so as not to face pressure from friends," said Vitaly Shutov.

At the same time, a fight against the project began in the country itself: calls are spreading in Ukrainian social networks and Telegram channels to complain massively about the game's page and demand its blocking. The criticism became especially active after publications in major pro-Ukrainian media, the developers said.

Screenshot from the game Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes

Photo: "Playing cats"

— We see organized attacks: instructions on how to complain about the game en masse are distributed on military websites, Telegram channels, and the X network, and such actions are coordinated by time. After the moderation was tightened, users who spoke positively about the project began receiving threats in private messages," the game director said.

The project was created with the support of the Institute for Internet Development (IRI). According to the developers, Gostomel Bogatyrs was conceived as the first part of a series of games dedicated to the events of the SVR.

Screenshot from the game Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes

Photo: "Playing cats"

— The Mariupol project, dedicated to the events of spring 2022 and the liberation of the city, is currently under active development. In addition, additional modes will appear in the Gostomel game itself, including the "fight" mode, which will include materials that were not included in the main story campaign," said Vitaly Shutov.

At the same time, the developers also faced restrictions from international platforms. According to him, Steam has banned the sale of the game in Russia, the studio has already filed an appeal.

— We point out that the game is already being sold in Russia on other platforms. But Steam's policy is now aimed at protecting itself as much as possible from any potential claims from regulators, so they prefer to limit such projects," he explained.

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Games as a tool of soft power

Experts note that the situation around the project largely reflects the general politicization of digital platforms and game content. According to Yaroslav Meshalkin, founder of the Center for Gaming and Esports Communications, restrictions on international services are most often dictated not by ideology, but by a pragmatic approach to risk management.

— Platforms like Steam operate primarily based on the logic of minimizing reputational and regulatory risks in Western markets. Therefore, regional restrictions or additional moderation of such projects are more of a risk management tool for them than a manifestation of an ideological position," he noted.

Screenshot from the game Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes

Photo: "Playing cats"

According to the expert, projects dedicated to modern or historical conflicts are at the intersection of entertainment, historical interpretation and the current agenda.

— For gamers, the key factor remains the quality of the game itself — its mechanics and the level of implementation. If the product turns out to be really interesting, then its cultural or semantic component begins to work," he stressed.

Screenshot from the game Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes

Photo: "Playing cats"

He added that creating games based on one's own history is a normal practice for any country and an important area of industry development.

— It is important that such projects are made at a high production level and are of interest to a wide audience. In this case, they have a real chance to arouse the steady interest of gamers outside the local market," the expert said.

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Alexander Tolkach, producer of the "Squad 22: ZOV" project, also believes that Steam's restrictions are primarily related to legal risks for the platform.

— The service consistently closes games about its own and similar ones for users from Russia based on practical considerations. Steam has received many complaints from Roskomnadzor about content that discredits Russia and its armed forces. It is difficult for the platform's lawyers to figure out from which position a specific project is being created, so it is safer to restrict access to such solutions immediately," he explained.

Screenshot from the game Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes

Photo: "Playing cats"

According to the expert, the audience's interest in such projects can be maintained if they are high-quality in terms of gameplay.

— Games are an important media resource for a gentle study of the history of conflict and the formation of a sense of belonging. If we don't do such projects, the market will be dominated by products where Russia is shown solely as an opponent," concluded Tolkach.

At one time, Ukrainians also tried to remove Squad 22: ZOV from Steam through large-scale and coordinated complaints about the game's page, but the project is still available, information technology specialist Igor Baranov recalled. At the same time, he called the ban on the purchase of Gostomel Bogatyrs for users from the Russian Federation the desire of the platform to protect itself from possible political risks.