Russian politician calls for Call of Duty ban and home-grown alternative because 'you're almost always shooting at Russian soldiers' in the Modern Warfare games

The Russian government is prepared to support the development of a homegrown military shooter akin to Call of Duty through measures including reduced corporate tax rates and insurance premiums for developers who make it. Confirmation of those potential incentives comes a month after a Russian lawmaker called for a ban on the Call of Duty series in the country, accusing Western nations of using it to spread "Russophobic propaganda."

The commitment comes from a Gazeta.ru report (Google translated, via Insider Gaming), which quotes the Ministry of Digital Development as saying, "if the [government] receives an application for funding for the development of a game on the topic specified in your letter, it will be reviewed in accordance with the established procedure and within the framework of existing competitive mechanisms."

The Ministry cited existing government support for IT companies and game developers including "a reduced corporate income tax rate of 5%, reduced insurance premium rates, and a partial VAT exemption in certain cases."

Which brings us to now: Nobody has stepped forward to say they're working on a Russian Call of Duty, but if someone does, they'll enjoy the same sort of benefits that Activision, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and all the rest get from Western governments.

Delyagin is correct in saying that Russians are the traditional enemies of the West in the post-World War 2 world (and not just in videogames), only stepping out of that role when covertly collaborating with Western forces—typically against Russian or Russian-aligned enemies. And US cultural hegemony means that if Russian gamers want to play the biggest and most popular military shooters in the world, well, they're probably going to be shooting at their own boys.

Russia has made similar game-related noises in the past: In 2022, for instance, an exodus of Western tech companies following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompted the country to explore the possibility of making a "national game engine." That idea was eventually dropped over the expense involved, although an unnamed private investor reportedly stepped in to keep the project moving forward.

Whether Russia can actually pull off a credible Call of Duty competitor is another question entirely, but it certainly isn't alone in wanting to portray its military forces in a more flattering light. If anything, it's late to the party: In 2013, the Chinese military released a military shooter called Glorious Mission, which was apparently a big hit in the country.

Glorious Mission Teaser - YouTube

Watch On