Game On: Reassessing Guns and Video Games

How many people who grew up watching Davy Crockett, The Rifleman and other ’50s and ’60s Westerns, cop shows and World War II flicks attribute their interest in history and firearms to these programs?1 If you were a viewer during this golden age of TV, you’re probably nodding your head. Well, believe it or not, video games might have the same effect on your kids, grandkids, or nieces and nephews. If you’re a millennial or zoomer and are a regular or casual console or PC player, you might agree.

Given this possibility, do some video games, particularly those featuring historical and modern guns, offer any educational value? Most serious discussions about gaming often focus on the negative aspects, such as its potential link to violent behavior and detrimental health effects.2 As a consequence, some of the more positive aspects of gaming, such as its role in stress relief, community building through play, cognitive skill improvement and education, are overlooked.3 However, there is evidence indicating that playing certain games featuring firearms, particularly those that pay special attention to authenticity and accuracy, can offer educational benefits for players.

Igniting Curiosity

Much like me, Jonathan S. Jones — a history professor at James Madison University — credits games such as Sid Meier’s Gettysburg!, Sid Meier’s Antietam! and Civil War Generals 2 with fueling his passion for history.

“That was a big part of my story,” he said. “For me, it turned into a career.”

Jones has talked to numerous historians from the same generation who had a similar experience: They were mildly interested in history but became captivated with it because they were able to engage with it in these games.

“And that’s what I see in my students too,” he indicated.

Jones noted that history-themed video games, especially those focused on U.S. history, are among the bestsellers.

The gaming industry is generating more money than the music and film industries combined, with more than 60 percent of adults (18 and older) playing video games. Seventy-five percent of gamers play at least four hours per week.4

With increasing exposure to games, particularly history games, more adolescents and young adults are developing an interest in learning about our past, including daily life and technology of the depicted periods.

There’s a noticeable increase in gamers wanting to know which guns are accurately portrayed in games, leading to Jonathan Ferguson, the keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum, being regularly featured on GameSpot’s YouTube channel. The channel for gamers boasts more than 5.4 million subscribers, surpassing the population of the state of South Carolina.

Ferguson’s YouTube video reacting to and reviewing the guns in Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2), a game set in the American West and South at the tail end of the 19th century, has garnered more than 2.9 million views.5 It’s hardly the only video about guns in a specific game that has surpassed the 1-million-view mark. Comments range in the thousands. To say that gamers are interested in the guns featured in video games is an understatement.

Ferguson isn’t the only YouTuber who has seen a surge in interest in guns among gamers. Greg Kinman, the creator behind the channel Hickok45, and Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons both responded to public demand by sharing videos reviewing the guns featured in RDR2 and Battlefield 1. Together, these two YouTube firearms channels have more than 10 million subscribers.

While Kinman, in his 70s, acknowledged that he’s not a gamer, he said that if any game could draw him in to become one, it would be RDR2. Kinman’s video on RDR2’s guns has more than 12 million views and more than 15,000 comments.6

McCollum posted a video on his YouTube channel just days after the release of the trailer for Battlefield 1, a first-person shooter set during World War I.

“I know about [Battlefield 1] because approximately everybody on the internet has asked me if I’m aware of it,” McCollum joked. “And I am. I’ve also had a lot of people asking me to do some content on World War I-related guns.”7 The YouTuber has since posted 86 videos on the platform under a playlist titled “Guns in BF1.”

Video games are directing traffic not only to gun-related YouTube channels but also to museums.

Ferguson mentioned that the majority of visitors to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds and those reaching out via email are overwhelmingly younger. And not all of them are teenagers either. Many of these individuals are in their 20s and 30s, having come of age during the golden era of home-video-game consoles. Many of them likely fall within the 75 percent of gamers who play at least four hours per week.

And they are visiting the museum from around the world. They have come from as far as the U.S. and China. The same day we spoke, Ferguson mentioned having a gamer visiting from Australia.

“It happens all the time,” he said of the museum’s worldwide guests.

Ferguson attributes it to the gun reviews featured on GameSpot’s YouTube channel.

“We did a live event a few months ago,” he said, “where we had nearly 500 people with us doing a live version of our show.”

Teaching Tools

A decade ago, if you had suggested that professors would someday be using video games to teach students, people probably would have laughed at you. But today, some university professors are embracing such games as teaching tools.

Jones has lectured and written about the value of video games in educating college students. He explained how games such as RDR2 “allow players to enmesh themselves in American history in a uniquely experiential way that reading a book or article simply cannot deliver.”8

When Jones teaches his university students about the American West, he references RDR2 because so many of them have played it. It ranks in the top 10 bestselling video games of all time, with more than 61 million copies sold.9 He explained how video games that blend history and entertainment can make the former interactive and engaging, allowing students to see and feel the past in a way unlike anything else.

“I think the engaging factor is a really, really big deal,” he said.

Rockstar Games — the game developer behind RDR2, praised for its historical authenticity and accuracy — exposes gamers to important and complex subjects such as slavery, war trauma and disability, and other social issues on the American frontier. Moreover, RDR2 allows players to interact with 19th-century technology — notably firearms.

Ferguson recognizes the educational value that video games such as RDR2 offer in terms of teaching players about the history and operation of guns.

He pointed out that the codex entries for Battlefield 1 serve as an in-game learning resource. There are more than 300 codex entries, ranging from the well-known Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless to the enigmatic Standschütze Hellriegel 1915 submachine gun to the bizarre Pieper M1893 revolver carbine.10

For me, had I not been exposed to the Piper during Battlefield 1 gameplay, I probably would never have heard of this unusual carbine. There’s no doubt other players have had a similar experience.

Of course, video game developers, like filmmakers, take creative liberties to enhance the gaming experience and entertain their audiences. But some developers aim to ensure that firearms are depicted as accurately as possible, even if they didn’t exist in the exact historical periods or are part of a fictional setting.

For example, Ferguson explained that in Battlefield 1, the firearms function accurately, they have the right capacities, and they have roughly the correct capabilities. However, some firearms should never have been included in the game because they didn’t exist in that specific historical setting, even if they existed at the time — alas, my beloved Piper.

Even the developers of a game like Marauders, set in a ‘90s dieselpunk space setting, want the guns to be realistic.

Ferguson said that besides ensuring that the guns look right and operate like actual guns should, game developers strive to include other elements such as sound, feel, movement and so on because players desire them. The greater the authenticity and accuracy of the game elements, the better — and the more likely they will have educational value for players.

Ferguson explained that gamers can either passively absorb information or more actively interact with it, as in the case of the game World of Guns: Gun Disassembly. A gamer can test his or her ability disassembling and assembling more than 250 modern and antique guns in the game’s competitive mode.

“You can learn how the gun works from that game,” Ferguson indicated. “You absolutely can because I’ve done it and then gone and looked at a real one and gone, ‘Yeah, this is actually correct.’”

Valerii Zadorozhnyi, the studio director for Noble Empire Corporation, the developer behind World of Guns, said that while most developers might favor gameplay over authenticity and accuracy, he and his team of more than 20 programmers and artists strive for as much realism as possible to achieve the detail praised by Ferguson. Designing each 3D model takes roughly three months due to the extensive research and thoroughness that goes into creating each weapon.

“[W]e need three kinds of references to start work,” Zadorozhnyi explained. These three references include a cutaway picture, such as an original manual or patent drawing; an exploded-view drawing showing individual parts separately and their relative positions; and a disassembly video, whether period or modern, explaining how to disassemble and assemble the firearm. All three resources permit Zadorozhnyi and his team to understand every part, groove and cut of a gun and how they all come together for the firearm to function. If his team can’t locate all three of these resources, they won’t design the weapon for fear of missing a major component or botching the function.

Armies and police forces from around the world, as well as schools such as the Czech Republic’s University of Defence, have utilized the graphics and animations from World of Guns to learn about firearms and instruct students. Teachers can use the game’s animation, X-ray and cutaway modes to demonstrate and explain a gun’s operation. Additionally, the “assembly and disassembly” mode allows students to delve into the inner workings of a gun in a way that would be difficult to arrange in real life.

“As a tool for explanation in a classroom, it’s very good,” Zadorozhnyi said.

This phenomenon of using guns in games as educational tools is akin to racing or flight simulators that teach gamers how to operate a race car or fly a plane. And the evidence shows that gamers have a cognitive advantage over non-gamers.

For example, a 2021 study conducted on 30 Chinese university students found that flight-performance and eye-movement indicators among video game players were significantly better than non-video game players.11

Another study, which explored suitable replacement Unmanned Aerial Systems operators to address manpower shortages, found that among 60 participants comprised of video game players (VGPs), private pilots and professional pilots, VGPs and professional pilots ranked highest in decision confidence during a simulated civilian cargo flight. VGPs also consistently made decisions with a confidence level that corresponded to their correct performance across various decision-danger categories.12

Some professional drivers use simulators when they are not on the track — or even before their races.13 The story of gamer-turned-professional-racer Jann Mardenborough, who grew up playing Gran Turismo, even became the subject of a 2023 feature film.14

Ferguson said he was able to fly a Tiger Moth for 15 minutes with no prior flight experience just from playing flight simulators. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to hop into a 1930s biplane and expect to flawlessly fly it.

“Obviously there are limits to that,” Ferguson admitted. “And in terms of firearms, there’s obviously a lot going on there that you can’t get through a screen.”

He mentioned safe handling, the basics of sight alignment and sight picture, and other factors that you can’t experience without gripping the real thing and firing it at the range. But Ferguson said some games can provide a starting point.

On the front line in the museum sphere, he has noticed the transfer of knowledge from the game world to the real world.

“I’ve had parents, younger audience members, tell me that their kids walk into the museum and they’re naming all the guns, not necessarily from the stuff I’ve told them, but from playing the games themselves. It’s like me when I was a kid naming dinosaurs in the Natural History Museum,” Ferguson said. “I can go on all day about how games can educate people in various ways.”

‘Cross-Pollination’

Given the influx of players seeking to enhance their understanding of guns and the potential for games to educate them, how extensively are game developers collaborating with experts to ensure authenticity and accuracy?

When it comes to video game developers working with professional historians, Jones said, there’s still considerable room for growth.

“It’s being done kind of here and there,” he said, “but not as extensively as the kind of work that Hollywood does with historians and that the game industry does with archaeologists.”

Jones cited the Assassin’s Creed game series as an example of this collaboration. The series features a “Discovery Tour” that enables gamers to investigate the life of the Vikings, visit Classical Greece and explore the Great Pyramids. Players can interact with both fictional and historical figures in a realistic setting, immersing themselves in various historical topics. These range from art and architecture to philosophy, politics, religion and the daily routines of people from different historical periods. Jones said the developer, Ubisoft, created this game feature in consultation with professional archaeologists.15

“There’s a lot historians can offer to game developers,” he indicated. “Like we can help increase the authenticity of the game, but also can help make games more dynamic.”

For instance, Jones explained that in RDR2, there are various characters who gamers might wish to interact with more but can’t. Historians can help fill these gaps in the narrative by providing historically accurate and meaningful dialogue. This could enhance the educational aspects of the game, capturing the lifestyles of different individuals depicted and addressing social issues they faced.

Jones would like to see the collaboration between historians and the game industry become more systematic in the future.

“I think in the long-term, if game developers are continuing to be interested in putting out accurate games and authentic games, and especially if they start hiring historians, I think that ultimately that will be a good thing for us all,” he explained. “I think that cross-pollination is the path moving forward.”

Fortunately, gamers are demanding more authenticity and accuracy, and designers and firearms experts, whether in academia, museums or other fields, are increasingly collaborating to get it right.

Two of the larger and most successful game series, Call of Duty and Battlefield, have firearms experts working with their developers, Activision and DICE.

What game developers desire most is access to original firearms, aiming to faithfully replicate the models and textures to meet gamers’ demands.

Ferguson and his colleagues at the Royal Armouries Museum assisted Rebellion Developments in enhancing the Sniper Elite game series, a tactical shooter set during World War II. They provided information about historical weapons and their use, allowing the developers to study and handle period firearms.

They went a step further by organizing a “boot camp” for Rebellion’s developers. This involved a live-fire session with the Lee-Enfield No. 4 and No. 4 (T) standard British infantry and sniper rifles. The session included instruction on firearms safety, marksmanship principles, noise and recoil, firing techniques to control breathing and prevent muscle twitching, and more. The developers also participated in drills while equipped in World War II gear to experience the weight and understand how it would have affected a soldier.16

“We gave them all of that,” Ferguson explained, “and they went away and they improved what was already a very good historically accurate game in a number of ways.”

Flipping roles, developers have aided professionals outside the gaming industry. Zadorozhnyi recently collaborated with Ben E. Nicholson, a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, who published Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler (2024), focusing on the rare flintlock revolver that likely influenced Samuel Colt’s revolutionary wheelie. Zadorozhnyi dedicated about one and a half years to creating a 3D digital cutaway model of the Collier to ensure its flawless accuracy, down to the revolver’s rivets. It’s the first time a 3D model of this rare firearm has ever been recreated, providing readers with an opportunity to learn how it operated and view it in a way they never could looking at it through a pane of glass in a museum exhibit.

Untapped Potential

Whether we like it or not, the video game industry isn’t going away. Neither is the presence of guns in video games. Millions of adolescents and young adults play games or watch other people play or review them on Twitch, YouTube or some other livestreaming or video platform. As a result, many players are developing an interest in history and firearms through gaming, prompting them to look beyond the gaming world to learn about historical and modern guns.

Rather than dwell on the negative elements of guns in video games, perhaps we should consider how some games can be used as a means of educating players. Fortunately, players are increasingly seeking authenticity and accuracy in gameplay, and some game developers are meeting these expectations by collaborating with experts. There is certainly room for growth, but the desire for authenticity and accuracy in gaming experiences is evident among gamers.

Games can provide a unique opportunity to educate players on various aspects of a firearm, including its history and operation, gun safety and fundamentals, responsible ownership, and more. This applies whether or not a player’s interest in guns carries over from the screen to the real world. Pilots and professional racers have successfully incorporated games into their education and training. What’s stopping educators, instructors, and parents from attaining similar positive outcomes by using PC and video games to educate their students or kids about real-world guns?

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The Gamers’ Perspective

To gather insights from gamers, I joined several Red Dead Redemption 2 and Battlefield 1 Facebook groups and inquired if these games had sparked an interest in learning about or collecting firearms.

Logan LaPratt, a gamer from Michigan who plays Battlefield 1, shared that the World War I game led to an interest in the nearly 110-year-old conflict. His favorite weapon in the game is the Martini-Henry. LaPratt became intrigued with the breech-loader, as well as the German 08/18 Maxim SMG and Russian Fedorov Avtomat, and delved into substantial research on these weapons. Chances are he never would have been exposed to these firearms or developed a fascination with them if he had not played the game.

Steve Moberley from Illinois shared a similar experience but in the context of Old West firearms featured in RDR2. He has been shooting for a long time and primarily owns firearms of a more tactical nature or those used for sporting clays. However, after seeing Navy revolvers in RDR2, he decided to purchase a Uberti “Man With No Name” in .38 Special. Replicas produced by manufacturers provide gun owners with an opportunity to own and use these historical firearms without the hefty price tags or worrying about damaging historical artifacts. Moberley said the Uberti has become his favorite gun, and he has plans to acquire an actual cap-and-ball Navy revolver and a Winchester lever-action as well.

Ohio native Zac Ansted revealed that World War II first-person shooters, including Call of Duty and Medal of Honor — the predecessors of Battlefield 1 — inspired him to purchase an M1 Garand through the Civilian Marksmanship Program at the age of 18. This decision ignited a lifelong passion for historical firearms. Ansted’s participation in the Garand Match at the annual National Matches at Camp Perry, encouraged by some Vietnam War veterans at his local range, broadened his interest in other rifles and matured into a wonderful hobby.

Every individual’s experience of how and why he or she got interested in firearms from gaming is unique. Some are drawn to a gun’s mechanics or operation, as in the case of Logan LaPratt. Others are attracted to a firearm because of the historical period with which it’s associated, as seen with Steve Moberley and Zac Ansted. Regardless of why or how people are becoming interested, video games are leading some individuals to look beyond the virtual world, prompting them to educate themselves about firearms and maybe even purchase one. And it’s important for these players to have access to reliable and credible educational and training resources.

— Frank Jastrzembski, Contributing Editor

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Endnotes

1. Nick Jacobellis, “TV and Movie Guns: Inspiring Generations of Gun Owners,” Concealed Carry Magazine 19, no. 8 (November/December 2022): 84-86.
2. Dalton Cooper, “Kyle Rittenhouse Prosecutor Asks If He Plays Call of Duty,” Game Rant, Nov. 11, 2021, GameRant.com/kyle-rittenhouse-call-of-duty-fps-games-video-clip/; Peter Grinspoon, “The Health Effects of Too Much Gaming,” Harvard Health Publishing, Dec. 22, 2020, Health.Harvard.edu/blog/the-health-effects-of-too-much-gaming-2020122221645.
3. “2023 Essential Facts About the U.S. Video Game Industry,” Entertainment Software Association, accessed Nov. 8, 2023, TheESA.com/2023-essential-facts/.
4. Gavin Divers, “Gaming Industry Dominates as the Highest-Grossing Entertainment Industry,” GamerHub, Jan. 24, 2023, GamerHub.co.uk/gaming-industry-dominates-as-the-highest-grossing-entertainment-industry/; “2023 Essential Facts About the U.S. Video Game Industry.”
5. GameSpot, “Firearms Expert Reacts to Red Dead Redemption 2’s Guns,” Feb. 6, 2021, YouTube video, 14:12, https://youtu.be/PB50Li6czys?si=_8mr0CIW5u06KKlN.
6. Hickok45, “Red Dead Redemption 2 Guns,” Dec. 7, 2018, YouTube video, 41:36, https://youtu.be/TN6-mLD7K5k?si=syUglh6uUpTuYBxs.
7. Forgotten Weapons, “Forgotten Weapons WWI material for Battlefield 1,” May 9, 2016, YouTube video, 2:12, https://youtu.be/dDRRlVElEXI?si=bFIPSPp5TNqlHt2c.
8. Jonathan Jones, “Red Dead Redemption 2,” Journal of American History 108, no. 3 (December 2021): 676.
9. Jordan Sirani, “The 10 Best-Selling Video Games of All Time,” IGN, updated Feb. 9, 2024, IGN.com/articles/best-selling-video-games-of-all-time-grand-theft-auto-minecraft-tetris.
10. “Weapons of Battlefield 1,” Fandom, accessed Nov. 7, 2023, Battlefield.Fandom.com/wiki/Category:Weapons_of_Battlefield_1.
11. Tianjiao Lua, Menghan Tangb, Yu Guob, Chenchen Zhoub, Qingxian Zhaob and Xuqun You, “Effect of Video Game Experience on the Simulated Flight Task: The Role of Attention and Spatial Orientation,” Australian Journal of Psychology 74, no. 1 (2022), DOI.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.2007736.
12. Jacqueline M. Wheatcroft, Mike Jump, Amy L. Breckell and Jade Adams-White, “Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Operators’ Accuracy and Confidence of Decisions: Professional Pilots or Video Game Players?” Cogent Psychology 4 (2017), DOI.org/10.1080/23311908.2017.1327628.
13. Maik Jahn, “How Pros Use Video Games to Prepare for Real Races,” OverTake, Dec. 6, 2020, OverTake.gg/articles-columns/feature/how-racing-drivers-practice-in-video-games-w-rudy-van-buren/.
14. James Elson, “Jann Mardenborough, the True Story: Gran Turismo Gamer Turned Racing Driver,” Motor Sport, last updated Oct. 10, 2023, MotorSportMagazine.com/articles/racing-movies/who-is-jann-mardenborough-gran-turismo-gamer-turned-racing-driver/.
15. “Discovery Tour,” Ubisoft, accessed Nov. 10, 2023, Ubisoft.com/en-us/game/assassins-creed/discovery-tour.
16. Lisa Traynor and Jonathan Ferguson, “Shooting for Accuracy: Historicity and Video Games,” in Historia Ludens: The Playing Historian, edited by Alexander von Lünen, Katherine J. Lewis, Benjamin Litherland and Pat Cullum (New York: Routledge, 2021): 249-250.