Supremacy: World War 3, a self-described “long-term strategy game” for PC and mobile devices, is circulating an ad that mocks Iran. The ad opens with the statement: “If you pick Iran to take over the world with, that’s gotta be the dumbest decision I’ve ever heard.”
The circulation of this ad during tensions in the Middle East may seem opportunistic, to say the very least. In recent weeks, several bombings have taken place between the countries of Israel and Iran. United States President Donald Trump also announced U.S. attacks on three reported Nuclear sites in Iran before calling for a ceasefire between the nations. On June 24, Trump announced that Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, and while there are reported violations of this ceasefire, the cessation of hostilities has remained active as of the time of this writing.
You may know Supremacy: World War 3 better as Conflict of Nations. They are the same, with the name change coming about due to a rebranding a couple of months ago.
The Supremacy: World War 3 ad, circulated on social media like TikTok, continues by suggesting that picking Iran out of 99 other available in-game countries is a bad choice. It then suggests the strategy of “taking out the other stans,” directly naming Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and then India—itself involved in a crisis earlier this year with Pakistan that began in late April and ended, via ceasefire, in early May. The ad ends by asking players what countries they would choose to start their own world war with.
Supremacy: World War 3 Iran Ad
The TikTok video has been seen over 700,000 times, garnering roughly 3,000 likes, 170 comments, 190 bookmarks, and over 300 reposts in the time since its initial posting on June 19. Many of the comments are quick to point out how “quick” ads are becoming, as this one relates to real-world events, but many also cite the ad as “not good timing.” Others also cite the ad as possible military propaganda in video game form.
Supremacy: World War 3 is a game not unlike Civilization or Risk where players are required to expand military, research technology, develop economies, form alliances, and wage war, only utilizing the fictional battleground of World War 3. There are also plenty of other games that utilize a fictional World War 3 as a setting or make mention or usage of Iran and its history, but those games are not currently circulating ads based on those fictional elements.