The Rise of Historical Gaming: Can Games Teach Us History?

Video games aren’t just about entertainment anymore — they’re one of the most powerful ways people interact with history today. From the trenches of Battlefield 1 to the detailed WWII maps of Hell Let Loose, millions of players are exploring the past through gaming.

But the question is: do games really teach us history, or just offer a Hollywood version of it?

The answer is a bit of both. Games can never perfectly capture the complexity of war — they often simplify events for playability. But they do something just as important: they spark interest. A player storming Omaha Beach in a game might go on to read about D-Day, watch documentaries, or even visit Normandy in real life.

Some developers go further, working with historians to make their games as authentic as possible. Hell Let Loose, for example, recreates battlefields using real maps and emphasises teamwork and tactics over arcade-style action. While not every detail is accurate, it brings players closer to the atmosphere of WWII than most media ever could.

Historical gaming also reaches younger generations who may not sit down with a history book, but will spend hours immersed in a virtual battlefield. If it leads them to ask questions, explore museums, or learn more about the people behind the pixels, then games have succeeded as a gateway to history.

So, can games teach us history? Not entirely — but they can make us curious enough to go and learn the rest. And in the end, isn’t that what history education is all about?