An Example of Progression

This section is an example progression of video games, from the beginning of their depiction of violence, to blatant violence, to a gamified war simulation, to actual software used in combat, and the results of said combat.

Let's start at the beginning.

DEATHRACE. Released in 1976 as an arcade game by Exidy. The first 'violent' video to cause major stir in mass media. The user plays as a car whose aim is to hit the humanoid characters. While technically not humans (a sort of alien creature), the idea of hitting things that looked like humans hit too close to home for some.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Was released on the Atari 2600 in 1983, nearly 10 years after the movie. You play as Leatherface, the murderer, and the aim of the games is, well, to kill people. Though not explicitly gorey, the subject matter is still questionable.

GUERILLA WAR. Intially released on the NES in 1987. A 'Shoot 'Em Up' or 'Run and Gun' style video game in which the player must kill in order to progress. Contains slight gore, though nothing comparatively explicit. The setting of the game models warfare, though little actually parallels reality.

MORTAL KOMBAT. Released in 1992 and 1993 for arcade and various consoles respectively. Famously, this game contains incredible gore. This game sparked great scandal amongst parents for its intense amounts of graphic violence.

CALL OF DUTY. Released for online gameplay in 2003. A type of 'First Person Shooter' game, the aim of Call of Duty (COD) and its subsequent franchise is to work through a variety of war setting (ranging from real wars such as WWII to mock-up futuristic wars), all the while engaging in combat from the perspective of a soldier.

MINECRAFT. Released in 2009 for online gameplay and a subsequent variety of consoles. It may seem odd to find a game like Mincraft here on the list, but as one of the most popular video games among children of the past two decades, it is important to note how violence, required in the game to both survive and progress, though presented in a cartoonish manner is pervasive in video games.

DANGANRONPA. Released in 2010 on console as a 'Visual Novel,' 'Shooter,' and 'Adventure' game. Being that the working plot of this game is being forced into killing classmates in order to survive, this game involves heavy depictions of violence. This is the other end of cartoonish violence. While the hot pink blood is not necessarily realistic, the gore is still intense.

THE U.S. MILITARY. This image depicts the software on which drone strikes are conducted. It may not be exactly like a video game, but it looks pretty close.

An example of a controller used in drone strikes. Again, its no Xbox, but it looks incredibly similar.

THE UKRAINIAN MILITARY. Ukrainian military personnel actively using drone equipment. You don't need me to tell you that they look like they're playing a video game.

SUDAN, SEPTEMBER 2025. The aftermath of a drone stike on a mosque in Sudan on September 19, 2025 by Rapid Support Forces (RSF; Sudanese paramilitary group currently engaging in a civil-war combat with the government military, Sudanese Armed Forces or SAF). These were people, not just targets on a screen.