Game with terror: UK police have a controversial game removed from Steam

Game with terror: UK police have a controversial game removed from Steam

A controversial computer game that enforces the shocking events of the Hamas attack on October 7 on Israel was removed on the popular Steam platform in Great Britain. This happened at the request of the British anti-terrorist police, as can be seen from emails between the developer Nidal Nijm and game sales. The game, known as "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood", has only recently been published and enables the players to take revenge on Israeli soldiers when the fictional character "Ahmad al-Falastini".

In a dramatic scene of the game, the main character floats into the Israeli military base Re’im with a motorized paraglider while wearing a green cloth-the color of the Hamas flag. The players then attack Israeli soldiers and carry out brutal executions. The developer emphasizes that the game is intended as a political protest and is not related to a certain Palestinian group. "I wanted to show that we have Palestinians the right to fight the Israeli occupation," said Nijm.

reactions and controversy

The decision to remove the game has triggered a wave of reactions. Nijm criticized the British authorities and found that similar games like "Call of Duty Black Ops 6", in which players act as American soldiers, were not pulled out of circulation. "There are clear double standards here," he said. Despite the controversy, the game was downloaded from around 50,000 users worldwide, with the ratings mixed on Steam - some praise the political message, while others criticize the graphics.

The debate about the game reflects the deep tensions associated with the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Hamas's attack on October 7 led to over 1,139 deaths and more than 8,700 injured, while the subsequent war in Gaza led to at least 44,282 Palestinian deaths. The discussion about the game and its content continues to be controversial, while the Steam platform is under pressure on how it deals with the publication of such content.