--- description: Some of the most popular video games are about World War II. Here, a historian highlights 5 worth playing—and the history they get right. title: 5 Historian-Approved World War II Video Games image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9e1e4e139deffeb/698a11c122fb85698ce2b5d8/battle-of-britain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [conflict](/tag/conflict/) ## conflict Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Video Games May Be Key to Keeping World War II Memory Alive. Here Are 5 WWII Games Worth Playing, According to a Historian ## Video: Hearts of Iron IV - 'Grand Ambitions' - Developer Diary 1 [Watch (HLS stream): Hearts of Iron IV - 'Grand Ambitions' - Developer Diary 1](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/V3KGbK0e.m3u8) (3:43)  _Published 2016-04-18. Hearts of Iron IV - 'Grand Ambitions' - Developer Diary 1_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Aug 27, 2020 8:45 PM CUT  Two Luftwaffe Dornier 217 twin-engined medium bombers flying over the Silvertown area of London's Docklands on Sept. 7, 1940 at the beginning of the Blitz on London. Two Luftwaffe Dornier 217 twin-engined medium bombers flying over the Silvertown area of London's Docklands on Sept. 7, 1940 at the beginning of the Blitz on London.Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Aug 27, 2020 8:45 PM CUT [The 75th anniversary](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/75th-anniversary-end-world-war-ii#:~:text=On%20September%202%2C%201945%2C%20formal,Japan%20Day%20%28V%2DJ%20Day%29. "undefined") of Japan formally surrendering to the U.S. aboard the battleship _USS Missouri_ on Sept. 2, 1945, arrives at a moment when the question of [how the war is remembered ](https://time.com/5832549/world-war-ii-memory/ "undefined")feels more necessary than ever. Veterans’ stories, books, movies and TV shows have kept memories of the war alive for the last 75 years, but how [will those stories be told](https://time.com/5875469/atomic-bomb-legacy/ "undefined") when there are fewer people around who lived through those era-defining years? Recently, some people in younger generations have turned to a perhaps surprising source for World War II stories: video games. Games have become more realistic not only in terms of technological advancements, but also in terms of featuring real people and, at least in terms of blockbuster games like _Medal of Honor_ and _Call of Duty,_ getting input from real experts on military history. For example, the upcoming virtual-reality game _Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond_ will feature documentary shorts, and creators interviewed WWII veterans about their wartime experiences to inform the set, which includes missions across Europe and in Tunisia. Inside their headsets, players will walk in the boots of a combat engineer recruited for espionage work by the Office of Strategic Services, which was a real U.S. intelligence agency during World War II and a precursor to the CIA. On Thursday, at the virtual Gamescom convention, Respawn Entertainment [unveiled](https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/1298655475500630017?s=20 "undefined") a new [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6VFHMl0UpI "undefined") for the game,which will be released this holiday season.  A scene from the upcoming virtual-reality game Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Respawn Entertainment One of the most popular WWII video game franchises, [_Medal of Honor_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/medal-honor-game-director-bringing-wwii-veterans-back-battlefields-1279293 "undefined")began with educational aspirations. As Peter Hirschmann, who worked on the original 1999 game and is the game director for _Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond,_ recalled to [_The Hollywood Reporter_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/medal-honor-game-director-bringing-wwii-veterans-back-battlefields-1279293 "undefined")earlier this year, _Saving Private Ryan_ director Steven Spielberg knew that his R-rated movie wasn’t for kids but expressed a wish that there were more popular culture available to spark interest in the war’s history among younger viewers. “He then had the foresight to see that one of the dominant forms of entertainment emerging was games, so he laid it out: ‘I want to make a WWII game that kids can play to introduce them to these stories,'” Hirschmann said. “He was very specific about wanting to call it _Medal of Honor_, because that award represents going above and beyond the call of duty.” So far, given that the U.S. is one of the biggest video game markets in the world, the U.S. perspective on the war dominates in video games too; as is the case with World War II movies, most are set in Western Europe. In fact, in 2013, Russian players blasted [_Company of Heroes 2_ ](https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/25/4553536/is-company-of-heroes-2-anti-russian "undefined")for repeating American stereotypes of the Eastern Front. Ultimately, history games can spark interest in learning more, says Bob Whitaker, a professor of History at Collin College and host of the podcast _History Respawned,_ where historians talk about history-themed video games. His own passion for this subject dates back to playing _Civilization II_ in the mid-1990s, which inspired him to create a “mod” (a player-made tweak) re-creating his grandfather’s experience in World War II as a pilot who flew missions over the Himalayas. And he wasn’t the only one. “Recently with the centenary of the end of World War I, I can’t tell you how many conversations I had with students and other scholars about how games they played like [_Battlefield 1_](https://www.theringer.com/2016/10/31/16037552/the-brutal-history-lesson-of-battlefield-i-a9408c603947 "undefined") or [_Valiant Hearts: The Great War_](https://time.com/3643724/best-video-games-2014/?utm%5Fsource=twitter.com&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=social-share-article "undefined")portrayed the First World War,” he says. “Going forward you are going to see the same sort of conversations about Second World War games.” In the next 75 years, he hopes more historians will see the value of games as Spielberg did. “I look at games as being in a similar positions as motion pictures were in the beginning of the 20th century. Games will be taken much more seriously in the 21st century; they’re going to carry much more historical weight,” says Whitaker. “Games are going to be a part of the ways in which we remember the past going forward. Historians have to offer a helping hand in case players want to know more.” [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter-history "undefined") Below, Whitaker picks five other titles that show how games are telling the story of World War II: ## **_Through the Darkest of Times_** **(2019)** --- > “” --- ## _Attentat 1942_ (2017) --- > “” --- ## _Call of Duty: WWII_ (2017) --- > “” --- ## _Wolfenstein: The New Order_ (2014) --- > “” --- ## _Hearts of Iron IV_ (2016) --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5875721/world-war-ii-video-games/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5875721/world-war-ii-video-games/"},"headline":"Video Games May Be Key to Keeping World War II Memory Alive. 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