Arcade Games at a War Memorial: What One Activist Group Is Critiquing

An activist collective called Secret Handshake installed three working arcade games at the District of Columbia War Memorial on Monday. The installation, titled "Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell," serves as a critique of how the Trump administration has used video game footage in promotional materials about Iran policy.

The location matters. The D.C. War Memorial honors District residents who served in World War I. By placing arcade cabinets there, Secret Handshake drew a deliberate contrast: between how we traditionally remember military service and how military action is being promoted in modern media.

What the Installation Says

A plaque at the installation explains the group's point: "The Trump administration knows that the best way to sell combat is by making it a video game, that's why they've been pumping out the 'sickest' Iran War video game hype reels." The group is referring to a real practice—the administration has incorporated footage from video games, particularly the Call of Duty franchise, into promotional videos that also show actual military strikes in Iran.

Secret Handshake built playable arcade games as a response. By creating functional games instead of just posting something online, the group forced people to physically engage with its message. That hands-on interaction is part of the critique.

A Pattern Going Back Further Than You Might Think

The connection between video games and military messaging isn't new. During the Iraq War, the military increasingly used language and visuals borrowed from first-person shooter games for recruitment. What's different now is that the administration isn't just imitating game style—it's taking actual footage from commercial games and putting it into official military videos.

This marks a shift. For the first time, a major U.S. government agency has directly pulled footage from commercial entertainment software for official military promotion at this scale.

Why This Matters for How We See Media

When military promotional videos use footage from a video game, the line between what's real and what's entertainment gets blurry. Video games are designed to be exciting—they use dramatic pacing, striking visuals, and heroic framing to keep players engaged. When those same techniques shape how we see actual military actions, it changes how we might react to them.

From a technical angle, modern video editing software makes it easy to blend game footage with real footage seamlessly. Social media platforms reward content that grabs attention, regardless of where that content actually came from. That combination makes it simpler than ever to mix entertainment and official messaging.

The broader concern worth flagging is that audiences may not always recognize where footage originates. If you see dramatic combat footage in a promotional video, you might assume it documents a real event—when in fact it could be rendered animation from a game. The tools exist to make that distinction invisible.

Secret Handshake's Approach

This isn't Secret Handshake's first activist installation. The group has previously created statues in Washington D.C. that highlighted connections between President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. They seem to favor creating physical objects in symbolically charged locations, then drawing media attention to the work.

What makes this arcade installation notable is that it required genuine technical skill. The group didn't just arrange existing arcade machines—they built functional arcade cabinets designed to work outdoors. Arcade hardware includes circuit boards, power supplies, and displays. Making those work in weather requires specialized knowledge.

Why Arcade Cabinets, Not Just a Website

Arcade games carry specific cultural weight. They evoke shared public spaces where strangers gather to play. They use a quarter-based model—direct, immediate, transactional. Older players recognize the aesthetic. For younger audiences, arcades feel retro and intentional.

If Secret Handshake had posted videos online instead, the message would reach fewer people and feel less immersive. The physical arcade cabinet forces you to stop, look at it, and engage with it. That's harder to ignore.

What This Means for Game Developers

The installation points toward a real question for the video game industry: when footage from a commercial game appears in government propaganda without permission, what happens next. Call of Duty is owned by Activision Blizzard. The company didn't license that footage for military use. This raises questions about intellectual property rights and where the line sits between public use and commercial theft.

Game developers and studios may find themselves needing to think more carefully about how their work could be repurposed in political messaging.

How Long Will It Stay

Installations on federal property without permission typically get taken down quickly. However, Secret Handshake's earlier work suggests the group is less interested in keeping something up permanently than in creating something worth documenting and discussing. The news coverage is part of the work.

The technical skill required—building weather-resistant arcade cabinets—shows this wasn't hastily thrown together. Someone planned it, sourced components, and tested it.

The Bigger Picture

What we're seeing is activist groups adopting increasingly sophisticated technology tactics. They're not just protesting anymore—they're building things. Secret Handshake's arcade installation mirrors the administration's own strategy of using digital media to shape how people think about military action. The difference is that one group is critiquing the approach by mimicking it.

The trend worth noticing is that political communication and technical capability are becoming harder to separate. To critique how media is used, activist groups now need filmmaking skills, editing knowledge, and hardware engineering. The tools of communication are the tools of confrontation.