One could almost think that ARD has on the Gamescom I found a booth that was right between "Marketing Wizard Wanted" and "Buzzword Bingo World Championship." Except this time it wasn't about advertising energy drinks, but about a newly founded "ARD Games Network." Yes, you read that right: public broadcasters are now making games. With your license fees. Did we really need this? I'd guess not!
Gaming instead of reporting
The mandate of public broadcasting is actually quite clear: to inform, contextualize, and report critically. But instead of explaining why... Roblox Since the platform made headlines, ARD is now building its own little castle adventure there. Hats off to their creativity in circumventing the Interstate Broadcasting Treaty: A game is suddenly "accompanying the broadcast".
This smells like the same old recipe: Take a few nice-sounding buzzwords like "diversity", "discourse" and "democracy education", season it with buzzword bingo ("strategic guardrails!And serve it all with a friendly smile. That's the justification for why the public broadcasting fee collection agency (GEZ) is now investing in pixelated worlds.
The problem with relevance
Let's be honest: Previous ARD games are about as relevant to the gaming scene as a diet guide at the Gamescom party. GreenGuardiansVRWell-intentioned, but probably not even the intern who put together the press kit actually played it. I heard about it for the first time today.
And now "Build a castle for the countess“On Roblox. While the Tagesschau (Germany's main evening news program) warns of sexual assault and swastikas on that very platform, the ARD (Germany's main public broadcaster) is distributing virtual bricks there. Marketing wizards would probably call that “cross-media ambivalence.” I call it: shooting yourself in the foot, only digitally.”
Transparency? Not a chance.
Of course, the most important question remains unanswered once again: What did this whole thing actually cost? Transparency regarding license fee revenue would almost be asking too much. One might almost think that "secrecy" is also on the internal buzzword bingo card.
We know the salaries of the directors very precisely. Over 400.000 euros for Kai Gniffke. After all, he solemnly declared that games “conveying democratic values" and "Promoting diversity“Nice. Maybe he’ll explain soon why my cat…”societal discourses are shaped".
ARD as a games publisher?
The crucial question remains: Does public broadcasting really need its own games? No one complains when the Tagesschau (Germany's main evening news program) reports on trends in gaming culture. That's even their job. But developing games themselves? That feels like Deutsche Bahn (the German railway company) starting to make action movies – “Platform congestion: Reloaded".
Of course, it sounds modern when ARD says it wants to "reach young target groups." But let's be honest: Who voluntarily plays an ARD game on Roblox when Playstation, Xbox, and the like offer entire worlds? Exactly.
Opinion formation using a gamepad
And then there's the elephant in the room: the manipulation of public opinion through games. When public broadcasters release a climate game with "Climate Emergency" in the title, it's not just a fun VR experiment; it's political framing. Sure, games are allowed to take a stance. But with public broadcasters, the line is thin: there's often no room for interpretation between neutral reporting and pedagogically packaged influence.
One might almost think that the aim here isn't so much to build pixels, but rather to cement subtle messages. And that's precisely what makes it so explosive: Instead of reporting on social issues, it could subtly mean: "This is how you should think about it."“Perfectly fine for private studios, but a problem for an institution financed by the public broadcasting fee.”
In the end, the whole thing comes across as a mix of expansionist ambition and image polishing, financed by the public broadcasting fee – that is, by you. A bit edgy, a bit youthful, without actually delivering any substance. The question isn't whether ARD should report on gaming. Of course it should. The question is: Why does it think it has to be a publisher itself? Because, honestly: Anyone who seriously believes that building a Roblox castle will save the younger generation should maybe watch Twitch first before developing games.
I long for the day when public broadcasting and the GEZ (German public broadcasting fee collection agency) are abolished and they have to face the free market.
I haven't watched regular TV for 10 years, and my sanity thanks me for it. Even the private channels only show insane nonsense. If I were watching that, I would have rushed to get vaccinated. There was this virus apocalypse horror thriller on that everyone was hyping. But the plot was extremely contradictory and illogical.
Like this new climate series in which a very small and clean country shuts down nuclear power plants in order to continue and operate new gas and coal power plants for the sake of the climate, ships fracked gas 6800 kilometers expensively across the ocean, bought by "friends" who blew up their most important pipeline while beating the war drums and come up with new "innovations" at glamorous festivals that the rabble has to endure in the form of taxes and bans.
Anyway, back to the topic.
God forbid they get interested in video games now. For heaven's sake, please no.
Oh God, that's just what we needed. The games are probably rendered too, and full of rainbow icons. I think it's ridiculous how everyone's trying to cash in on gaming. We used to be the nerds in school that nobody wanted to be around, and now we're in demand because people can make money off us and our hobby. For example, podcasts started as a format where editors talked about news in audio because it was cheaper to produce than a news video and faster than writing an article. Now there are podcasts everywhere, no matter the topic—politics, economics, or sports. Everyone thinks they're important enough to start their own podcast. Besides, ARD (the German public broadcaster) will realize that they can make more money with so-called "killer games" than with their unicorn games. Then it'll probably be morally okay again if they profit from it, right? And it's not like this is the first time we've been infiltrated. The German Armed Forces had a Gamescom city a few years ago, with slogans like, "If you want a real open world, come join us," etc.
Ah yes, let them throw taxpayers' money out the window, they're all good at that.
Since I often criticize, I also have to offer some praise here. Mr. Bender regularly drives me to despair. He publishes clickbait-style news that really gets some users (including me) riled up, and you wonder why the article was even written, since it feels like reading a few articles in Bild. AND THEN there are incredibly well-written columns like this one, where humor, criticism, and a touch of smugness come together perfectly, and you enjoy reading every line so you don't skip a single thing. How can one editor drive me so crazy? XD In any case, I have to say: Dear Niklas, you wrote this brilliantly, and I hope you read my comment and accept the positive feedback 😉
Here are a few more thoughts:
"This is how you should think about it.""
"In the end, the whole thing comes across as a mix of expansionist ambition and image polishing, financed by the public broadcasting fee, i.e., by you. A bit edgy, a bit youthful, without actually delivering any substance. The question isn't whether ARD should report on gaming. Of course it should. The question is: Why does it think it has to be a publisher itself? Because honestly: Anyone who seriously believes that building a Roblox castle will save the younger generation should maybe watch Twitch first before developing games."
Why do you think they organize drag shows for children where so-called "right-wing" press isn't allowed in? Whoever controls the children controls the future. And someone who doesn't even know their own gender is generally more vulnerable and easily manipulated.
We were very successfully indoctrinated into believing that certain "socialists" with a nationalist, right-wing conservative leaning were actually right-wing conservative, even though absolutely nothing about them was "conservative" or value-preserving 90 years ago. There has never been a more blatant, ideologically driven "progressive change." There was also a youth movement, and the media, discovered by Böggel as their primary propaganda tool, eagerly played along.
They suddenly wanted to conquer the world and, in a sense, "convince" everyone of the German character. Rumor has it there was a bit of violence involved, but what do I know?
*Any parallels to historical events are purely coincidental and originate from the author's imagination.