Rocwise’s Soldiers of the Universe shows a Turkish take on the war on terror

Soldiers of the Universe isn’t pretty — and it’s not supposed to be. Turkish studio Rocwise Entertainment created a first-person shooter about fighting terrorists from a Middle Eastern perspective, not a Western viewpoint. It’s the team’s first game, and it’s out now on PC.

Developer Can Cankatlı says that dealing with the topics of terrorism and war is a natural byproduct of geopolitics. Terrorism is a very real threat in Turkey, in part because of the border it shares with the embattled Syria. In 2016, Turkey suffered a devastating attack to Atatürk Airport, with 41 people killed and over 200 injured. In January, a gunman killed 39 people in Istanbul.