Killing to commemorate, dying to remember? Authenticity and the practice of memory in Isonzo

Abstract

First World War video-games have grown in importance and popularity since the centenary of 2014-18. But what does it mean to both develop and play these games? What vision of history is being constructed or transmitted between developers and players? Drawing on interviews with both these groups, this article examines the game Isonzo set on the Italian Front – an unfamiliar setting to most in the anglosphere – to explore the constructions of memory and historical meaning which the game produces.