The significant impact of video games on modern warfare

A Ukrainian soldier, just a few kilometers from the front line, pilots a military drone using a modified Xbox controller. The thumb gesture is the same one he used to control a character in Fortnite. This is not science fiction: today, real war is fought with the same fingers and the same reflexes as in a video game. The argument that still circulates is that video games are just an escape, a pastime with no impact on the real world. But this story forces you to face reality: for sixty years, the military and the video game industry have been inextricably linked. Training, recruitment, and even the design of modern weapons are influenced by the language of video games. Peter Singer, an expert on military technology, puts it bluntly: console companies have invested hundreds of millions to create controllers that anyone can master in a matter of hours. Now those controllers are ending up in the hands of soldiers – and not by accident. In Kyiv, 2025, there is Uriy, 37, the developer of the Ukrainian Fight Drone simulator. He has witnessed the transformation firsthand: kids who grew up with Call of Duty find themselves piloting war drones with eerie ease. FPVs, or “first-person” drones, are piloted in secret bunkers near the front lines. The screens, the headsets, even the gamer glasses are the same as those found in a gaming room. But here, real lives are at stake. One striking detail: the Ukrainian army openly recruits gamers, because it knows that anyone who can operate a video game console will be able to pilot a drone in combat. This is not an isolated case. Scholars speak of an “entertainment military-industrial complex”: an organic relationship in which war games also serve to recruit, train, and desensitize. Here's a mind-boggling fact: console manufacturers design interfaces for millions of gamers, but the real stroke of genius is making them perfect for the military as well. The most disturbing scene? A soldier switching from a Fortnite controller to piloting an armed drone, without even changing posture. But there is one aspect that no one disputes: if gamers’ dexterity and coldness become weapons, what remains of the gap between game and reality? Some fear that this overlap will diminish the gravity of the decision to kill, making war even more like a spectacle. The bottom line is this: today, the line between video games and war is not blurred; it has been deliberately erased. If you’ve realized that the joystick in your hand is no longer just a game, you can indicate this on Lara Notes with I’m In: it’s your way of saying that this idea deeply concerns you. And if you find yourself telling this story to someone, you can tag the conversation with Shared Offline—it's a way to remember that certain ideas truly change the way we talk. That was Le Monde; you saved at least eight minutes compared to reading the full article.