The nexus between violent extremism and online gaming has been a pressing issue among researchers, policy makers and law enforcement agencies for some time. Violent perpetrators have used well-known video games to prepare for their attacks. Extremists have also used gaming platforms to disseminate propaganda, radicalize or recruit others, and have created or altered video games to share their ideologies. The gamification of extremist discourse, including threats of violence, has also allowed extremists to mask or trivialise their violent intentions towards others.

However, online gaming communities and certain game genres, such as first-person shooter games, have also been disproportionately stigmatized as a result of these events. Given the distinctive and complex radicalisation journey of each individual, it can be difficult to identify drivers of radicalisation that are unique to the online gaming ecosystem – which is itself a highly complex and variable space. Large-scale data-driven studies can help us to better understand how violent extremism manifests within gaming communities and on gaming-related platforms.

This report, produced for the European Union, investigates the prevalence of extremist content in public spaces across the online gaming ecosystem. It focuses on key extremist narratives and themes, the role of games and influential voices, as well as recruitment and radicalization tactics. This report features qualitative and quantitative analysis of extremist content across gaming spaces on Discord, 4chan, Gamer Uprising, incels.is and Steam.