The new exhibition at Imperial War Museum London is aimed at removing "perceptions of how video games intercede story about war and conflict."
The exhibition, titled War Games: Real Conflicts | Virtual Worlds | Extreme Entertainment, will be open from now until May 2023 and seeks to "examine one of today''s most popular storytelling mediums and investigate how war is depicted in a virtual world."
"War Games offers visitors the opportunity to investigate the tension between the thrill and horror of warfare in a game and its implications in the real world," a press release said.
"Common gameplay tropes such as explosive barrels and sniper rifles feature alongside collection items such as facial prosthetics developed during the First World War. The exhibition also explores how video game technology can be used and used to shape real wars, presenting brand new acquisitions, including a Xbox 360 controller once used to operate the camera of an unmanned aerial vehicle in Afghanistan and Iraq."
"immersive installations, never-before-displayed objects, and perspectives from industry experts," as well as the possibility to see games such as Sniper Elite 5, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, This War of Mine, and Bury Me, My Love, and explore how different developers have depicted conflict.
A "half-day event" examining the history of war video games will be held on Saturday 26 November 2022 at IWM. You can expect live performances, talks, and after-hours access to the exhibition.
A retro game zone and a Games Jam are also included in the festival, organised by Rebellion, which includes a Historical Games Network and the University of Glasgow''s Games and Gaming Lab.
