Revenge is Iran's take on Call of Duty so of course it's about fighting the US and NATO

Iranian animation studio Kosar3D is pivoting to video games, specifically a militaristic first-person shooter that news outlet RT (Russia Today) calls "Iran's Call of Duty." A bold statement, and the teaser video for Revenge, which is what the game is called, showcases some decent animation and visual fidelity.

The setting of Revenge deals with an alliance between Iran and Russia against NATO and, by that same token, the US. Kosard3D notes that the game is self-funded and not tied to the Iranian government or military, with the announcement stating that, "In this game, an international UAV force led by Iran has been formed that is responsible for the containment of the US army in World War III."

The RT report adds that Revenge is not about all-out war but "pre-emptive strikes launched on the enemy's soil to thwart the enemy's attacks." With Call of Duty's Modern Warfare entries focusing on the US government and military in conflict with Russia and the Middle East, the narratives often dip their toes into what you'd call pro-US military propaganda - so the comparison makes sense.

The Call of Duty series has been criticized in the past for its depiction of the Middle East, with The Financial Times posting an article with the headline 'Gaming needs to end its stereotyping of the Arab world.'

Still, Call of Duty is the biggest game franchise across PC and console, with budgets that eclipse the biggest movie productions. 2022's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is rumored to have had a budget of USD 250 million, so we shouldn't expect Revenge to feature the same production values - or be built on decades of fine-tuned FPS tech and mechanics.

However, game director Farhad Azima said, "The game resembles American and world-class games [Call of Duty] in terms of graphics and quality, despite our limited facilities." Revenge has been in development for two years, and the plan is to have it finished by the end of 2023. In addition to the video above, there's an in-game sequence on Kosar3D's YouTube channel titled 'Destruction of enemy missile base with a hypersonic ballistic missile,' which looks okay-ish in terms of visual fidelity.

But it is troubling when Kosar3D's official announcement for the video (translated by Google) calls it the "destruction of the Zionist army air base by the Hypersonic Fattah missile." Then there's the game's first level, which is based in US labs in Ukraine, producing deadly viruses, which is based on claims that have proven to be false.