Polish Government Handing Out Acclaimed Anti-War Game To Students

Video games can do a great deal of good for the world, sometimes. Whether it’s just offering people a nice bit of wholesome fun in their lives, or helping players improve their mental health, there’s no short supply of good reasons to be gaming. I mean, one recent study suggested kids who spend more time gaming end up being smarter. Big brain plays.

As reported by GamesRadar+, students and teachers in Poland are now being offered an award-winning anti-war title for free, alongside lesson plans on how to use the game in class. How neat is that? The game in question, of course, is the excellent This War of Mine - an indie gem from 11 bit studios.

Take a look at the trailer for This War of Mine right here.

In case you didn’t know what it was about, take a look at the game’s official synopsis from Steam: “In This War Of Mine you do not play as an elite soldier, rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city; struggling with lack of food, medicine and constant danger from snipers and hostile scavengers,” it reads. “The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle.”

In 2020, it was announced that the game was going to be added to Polish high school reading lists, so this might be a continuation of that: “I’m proud to say 11 bit studios’ work can add to the development of education and culture in our country,”

11 bit studios’ CEO, Grzegorz Miechowski, said at the time. “This can be a breakthrough moment for all artists creating games all around the world.”

Now, anyone eligible can grab the game for free directly from the Polish government’s website (in Polish, obviously). If you’re interested in trying it out for yourself and you’re not a Polish student or teacher, though, it’s currently 80% off on Steam (until 7 July). 

This War of Mine has already been doing a lot of good for the world this year beyond educating students. A few months ago, 11 bit studios announced that they’d raised over 3,000,000 Polish złoty (over £500,000) for the Ukrainian Red Cross, to support the Ukrainian people affected by the ongoing war, all through the sales of the game and its DLC. Amazing stuff.