Falkland Islands tensions erupt as Argentina developing ‘Malvinas’ video game
A new video game based on an Argentine perspective of the Falklands War is under development.
Marketed under the title of Malvinas: The Last Letter, it is based on interviews with five veterans and over twelve hours of war footage.
The video game is the first one about the conflict made directly by Argentine developers.
Previous versions of the conflict – Falklands 82 and Malvinas 2032 – were released in 1986 and 1999 by a British developer and a Californian-based company (Sabarasa), respectively.
The new game puts the player in the role of a fictional soldier who needs to protect letters written by his fallen comrades.
Hernán Patané, the developer, said that the decision to create a fictional character would allow the player to experience many different stories from the time.
He said he began developing his game after attending a conference in 2022 to brainstorm ideas for games focusing on conflict.
“The idea is to create content to keep this demand about the islands alive,” he told The Times.
Sovereignty of the Falklands continues to be a major issue for many Argentines, which has led to strained relations between London and Buenos Aires.
Successive Argentinian Presidents have vowed to repatriate the islands, with Javier Milei no exception to the rule.
However, the new President says he doesn’t intend to unleash a new military conflict and is determined to secure a peaceful diplomatic solution.
Milei pointed to the recent return of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as a precedent.
In an April interview, he also told the BBC that he expected the diplomatic process to take a long time.
“We are not going to relinquish our sovereignty, nor are we going to seek conflict with the United Kingdom,” he said.
He added: “They might not want to negotiate today. At some later point, they might want to. Many positions have changed over time.”
However, the islanders have no intention of becoming Argentine and are determined to preserve their independence.
Gavin Short, a member of the Legislative Assembly, told the Express that Falklanders would “rather starve than give our country away.”