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“​Hatred” is an independent PC game by ​a group of Polish developers. In order to set it apart for promotional reasons, the developers have stated that they are committed to “pure gameplay”, claiming that mass murder of civilians by an angry disenfranchised man is more “honest” or somehow free from political narrative, unlike other modern games.

Hatred is not apolitical. In fact, the opposite is true - it’s a game about glorifying violent racism and white supremacy. Consider the game’s trailer, which conspicuously lingers on the white protagonist brutally murdering and mutilating people of color.

In this photo of the development team, we can see that one of the developers wears a shirt depicting a controversial anti-Communist military group. Though the Żołnierze wyklęci guerilla movement is remembered as heroes by national institutions , they are also frequently lionized by right-wing politicians and activists in modern Poland.

Despite using registered marks held by the ESRB and Epic’s Unreal Engine attempting to legitimize their project, there is no working relationship between the studio and either organization. In a statement provided to Gamespot , Epic Games stated that “the video is using the trademarked Unreal Engine 4 logo without permission from Epic, and we’ve asked for the removal of our logo from all marketing associated with this product.”

Journalists and commentators alike do the industry a disservice by obfuscating the developer’s racially charged political hate in deference to the otherwise well-trod issue of violence in games. In doing so, they are playing into the exact type of controversy its developers have sought to capitalize on.