The Dark Future of Virtual Reality

Daesh and the Next Wave of Digital Content

For several years Daesh has been using games like GTA5 to help promote its terror brand. (Grand Theft Auto V (GTA5) is the one of the top selling video games of all time. Sales of Grand Theft Auto products have generated $2.3 billion for Take Two since GTA5 launch)

This was a no brainer from a marketing standpoint. GTA5 is an open world action adventure game. As the name suggests…you can steal cars. You can do a lot of other things too.

You know what’s really really easy in GTA5? And fun? And synergistic with Daesh’s brand?

Killing people. Killing lots and lots of people.

Killing in GTA5 is something of a past time for players. It’s a service that GTA5 provides. If you get bored stealing cars, GTA5 provides a vast digital world. You can do what you want. Why not take a break for some fun, safe, killing. Yes, you can kill people by running them over with cars. (Duh.) But that’s not all. You can shoot people.

You can stab them. You can beat them to death with a hammer.

Blood spatters. Heads separate from bodies. Killing…how you do it is really up to you.

“Killing Time” With GTA5 Is VERY Popular

Players enjoy this part of the game so much, they document their video killing sprees and share them with friends. Consider “Sly Shooter.” Sly Shooter is a YouTuber. He currently boasts of more than 300,000 followers on YouTube. His specialty is “Funny/Brutal Kill Compilations.” (He’s currently up to at least 96 from GTA5.) Compilation #55 from December of 2014 has 6.4 million views.

Is all of this disturbing? (sigh)

Video games are fun. And there is, of course, a difference between pretending to kill people and actually killing people. But with the advent of hyper-realistic online interactive social video gaming, the lines between real and imaginary can blur. Current research suggests that there is a connection between violent video games and aggression, though what that connection means is not entirely clear.

When you combine blurring of lines with savvy marketing, and the promise of real life excitement and adventure that accurately mirrors video game action and adventure, you get a dangerous recruiting tool for Daesh.

The Gamification of Recruiting is a Real Thing