San Francisco (AFP)

Supporters of US President Donald Trump can add his character to some video games and even protect him from assassination attempts in the lawless world of "Grand Theft Auto".

Across the political spectrum, players can visit Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden at his headquarters on "Animal Crossing."

By investing in the world of video games, political figures have reproduced the fractures of real life, arousing the disapproval of some players who complain of an invasion of their fictional universes.

"Video games will be used more and more as a gateway to politics," predicts Renee Gittins, executive director of the International Association of Video Game Developers.

“People don't watch commercials on TV anymore. You have to go where the audience is and, to a large extent, it is in video games,” she adds.

Almost four in ten American gamers are between the ages of 18 and 34, according to a recent study by Statista.

Video game enthusiast, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently enjoyed a resounding success on Twitch by broadcasting live a part of the game "Among Us", viewed by more than 430,000 people.

The newly elected Democrat from New York competed with famous broadcasters on the Amazon platform for more than three hours, subtly distilling political messages and prompting viewers to vote on November 3.

At one point, Ilhan Omar, a young Democratic representative from Minnesota, joined the game of this ultra-popular game of cooperation and betrayal.

A few days after the game broadcast by AOC, "Among Us" was targeted by hackers who broadcast pro-Trump messages there.

- "Escape reality" -

Some initiatives are not to the taste of all players.

When Sony introduced a free theme in support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement on its PlayStation consoles, some gamers expressed their displeasure.

"Video games are made for games, not for political or social movements," Yuri Kazuto Cinque wrote on Twitter, who said he would not buy the new PlayStation 5, which is on the market in a few days.

“Is it still possible to flee from reality?” Asked Justin Raposo on the social network.

“First sports and now video games!”.

But other players recall that politics is present in the plot of many titles.

The action of first person shooters often takes place in dystopian cities, where the characters fight against tyrannical or corrupt regimes.

In the "BioShock" series, the player evolves for example in an underwater world, ravaged by the excesses of unbridled capitalism.

The main character of "Wolfenstein" is an American hero who fights the Nazis in World War II.

On the Steam video game distribution platform, a section is devoted to political titles.

In the strategy game "Electioneering", the objective is to become, by any means possible, President of the United States.

Players who have some computer skills can also express their political opinion through "mods".

These mini-software, rather easy to develop, make it possible to add content or functionalities to existing games.

But the Nexus Mods platform has banned political changes until further notice, citing "a wave of provocative and controversial + mods + posted online, which relate to political and societal issues in the United States."

"Most of these + mods + are put online by cowards who use false noses and try to wreak havoc," denounces the platform.

The increase in the number of players during the pandemic is accompanied by an increase in political debates, notes Ms. Gittins.

"Some people say they are opposed to politics interfering in video games, but are quick to qualify the slightest subject of contention as political," said the specialist.

© 2020 AFP