The video game violence debate had gone almost dormant in comparison to its Jack Thompson-led heyday in the 90s. But suspected Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson has brought it back to the forefront, as officials say he carved a Helldivers 2 reference into a shell casing found near the crime scene.
One of the casings found at the scene reportedly had the inscription "Hey, fascist! Catch! ↑ → ↓↓↓" a reference to the Eagle 500 kg bomb, one of the game's most powerful weapons. Other pop culture references on casings included "Notices bulge / OWO what’s this?" and "Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao," an anti-fascist song from the 1950s.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attempted to draw a link between video games and mass shootings just days ago. This situation will ignite further debate in that arena.
The social media related to developer Arrowhead Studios has been flooded since this revelation from the national news. The game's subreddit is locked until further notice.
"Due to recent events and the high amount of posts about the topic, we will be locking the subreddit temporarily," moderators explained. "We're aware of what happened, our mod team doesn't condone it. In any case, posts and discussions about it are against this sub's rules regarding real-world political discussions."
It's common for critics to say "Keep politics out of my games," and that's almost always an impossible task. Helldivers 2 is literally a satire in which planet Earth is controlled by its most militaristic elements, and takes its wars to every planet its technology allows it to reach. It's inspired heavily by Starship Troopers.
Games that deal with war are inherently political, because war is political. It's what happens when diplomacy has failed, assuming your leaders ever meant for it to work in the first place. These are my least favorite stories to do, but they are my job every bit as much as giving you codes to unlock NBA 2K players. App Trigger will keep you posted on the increasingly bizarre developments in the gaming violence debate.