'Essential reading for anyone trying to understand where the next influence operation is being built'
ELIOT HIGGINS, founder of Bellingcat
'Revelatory . . . will fundamentally change how you understand modern power'
KELLY CLANCY, author of Playing with Reality
'Frequently surprising and utterly absorbing whether you're a gamer or not.''
JONN ELLEDGE, author of A History of the World in 47 Borders
__________________________________
In Power Play, leading game industry expert George E. Osborn reveals how video games - the world's largest entertainment medium - are being used by autocrats, populists and violent extremists to influence the real world around us.
Video games are the world's largest entertainment medium. They are played by billions of people of all ages every year, generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue.
But they are more than an entertainment product. They connect people across the globe, creating digital third places where people talk, share ideas and build identities, fostering diverse communities capable of dominating the digital discourse now shaping our reality.
While democracies continue to underestimate the potential for influence in this space, others have seized the opportunity to control, co-opt or collaborate with video game communities to wield the power of these vast information ecosystems.
Saudi Arabia is spending tens of billions of dollars acquiring video games businesses to wash its reputation. Russia has funded video game development to help spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine. Steve Bannon utilised tactics deployed by online video game communities to propel Donald Trump into the White House, and Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin even carved video game references into his bullets.
Supported by the insights of politicians, academics and industry experts, Power Play is the vital guide for understanding this new political frontier, highlighting what democracies must do to protect and harness the immense power of play before the essential battle for digital influence is lost for good.
| ISBN: | 9781035423286 |
| Publication date: | 18th June 2026 |
| Author: | George E Osborn |
| Publisher: | Wildfire an imprint of Headline Publishing Group |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 416 pages |
| Genres: |
Geopolitics Computer and video game industry Information technology industries eSports / Professional video gaming Politics and government |
'Essential reading for anyone trying to understand where the next influence operation is being built'
ELIOT HIGGINS, founder of Bellingcat
'Revelatory . . . will fundamentally change how you understand modern power'
KELLY CLANCY, author of Playing with Reality
'Frequently surprising and utterly absorbing whether you're a gamer or not.''
JONN ELLEDGE, author of A History of the World in 47 Borders
__________________________________
In Power Play, leading game industry expert George E. Osborn reveals how video games - the world's largest entertainment medium - are being used by autocrats, populists and violent extremists to influence the real world around us.
Video games are the world's largest entertainment medium. They are played by billions of people of all ages every year, generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue.
But they are more than an entertainment product. They connect people across the globe, creating digital third places where people talk, share ideas and build identities, fostering diverse communities capable of dominating the digital discourse now shaping our reality.
While democracies continue to underestimate the potential for influence in this space, others have seized the opportunity to control, co-opt or collaborate with video game communities to wield the power of these vast information ecosystems.
Saudi Arabia is spending tens of billions of dollars acquiring video games businesses to wash its reputation. Russia has funded video game development to help spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine. Steve Bannon utilised tactics deployed by online video game communities to propel Donald Trump into the White House, and Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin even carved video game references into his bullets.
Supported by the insights of politicians, academics and industry experts, Power Play is the vital guide for understanding this new political frontier, highlighting what democracies must do to protect and harness the immense power of play before the essential battle for digital influence is lost for good.
Power Play features in the following genres: Geopolitics, Computer and video game industry, Information technology industries, eSports / Professional video gaming, Politics and government
Power Play is available in Book, Paperback, Hardback
Power Play was written by George E Osborn and published by Wildfire an imprint of Headline Publishing Group
Power Play has 416 pages
£22.50