June 01, 2025

Game against Ukraine


Game against Ukraine
Fun? Squad 22 ZOV, Steam.

Perhaps it was inevitable. Between VR museums in schools, a meme-inspired Red Army Choir performance, and crackdowns on absurdist memes, Russia's ongoing War on Ukraine has continued to infiltrate cyberspace.

Now, even gamers can get in on the action.

On May 28, the video game Squad 22: ZOV was published on the online PC game platform Steam. The game has been available in Russia since January, but the international release on the popular American-owned marketplace was delayed.

Russian media attributes this to "Russophobia and intolerance towards the Russian gaming industry" (of course). More likely, the delay was due to the game's sensitive subject matter. Squad 22 is a real-time close-quarters tactical game where players command a team of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine on maps replicating actual battle sites. According to the developers, the game drew on the experience of veterans of the "Special Military Operation" to create a realistic atmosphere.

From the Steam page, Squad 22 appears to be a weak imitation of Door Kickers, a popular earlier title where players commanded modern American special forces to infiltrate and clear terrorist hideouts in nail-biting firefights. Reviews of Squad 22 currently stand at "Mixed," with 61% positive, with some praising its realism and other decrying it as shoddy propaganda. For reference, reviews of Door Kickers 2 stand at 95% positive.

It also appears that several complaints have been launched towards Steam, so it may only be a matter of time before the game is delisted.

Those crying propaganda may be right: The game's developer and "chief ideologist," Alexander Tolkach, is the son of Russia's former ambassador to Hungary, hardly an impartial party. Still, Russian state media asserts that the game is selling well, even with American audiences: Reportedly, 70% of the game's downloads so far has come from American gamers.

Still, this does not make it a hit, despite Russian state media assertions. According to SteamCharts, an online tool that measures player game traffic, Squad 22 peaked on May 29 with a paltry 50 players on Steam worldwide.

As of the writing of this article, 36 players were in-game. More than 650 were playing Door Kickers 2.

We'll hold off on downloading it until we can play a map of Putin's palace.

You Might Also Like

Game Over
  • January 30, 2023

Game Over

The Russian government has asked the prosecutor's office to create a list of banned video games.
Sci-fi Author, Meet Dystopia
  • June 14, 2022

Sci-fi Author, Meet Dystopia

A well-known science fiction author has been placed on the Kremlin's wanted list for protesting the war in Ukraine.
A Pixelated Palace for Putin
  • February 09, 2021

A Pixelated Palace for Putin

Now you, too, can experience the glamor of Putin's Black Sea palace without the pricetag in the digital worlds of Minecraft.
Tetris: The Perfect Video Game?
  • May 17, 2020

Tetris: The Perfect Video Game?

A deep dive into the history and philosophy behind Tetris, and the reasons why it has managed to stay relevant for so long and will probably still be in the future.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955