"Press Escape to Skip Concentration Camp"? Player Reflections on Engagement with the Holocaust through Digital Gaming

Abstract

Abstract: Digital entertainment games about World War II have long omitted references to the Holocaust. This article presents a focus group study on how players discuss their experiences of playing two games that do offer a representation of the Holocaust, Wolfenstein: The New Order and Call of Duty: WWII . It explores questions of digital memory by examining how players reflect on these games as historical representations and, in particular, how they reflect on engaging with the Holocaust through gameplay. To analyze players' reactions to engaging with sensitive and contentious pasts through gaming, I develop the concept "gaming fever."