Extremists Play Games Too: Gaming References in Extremist Discourse

The “gamification of terror” has become a dominant lens for interpreting links between video games and extremism. This article challenges that consensus through a Critical Discourse Analysis of the manifestos of Anders Breivik, Brenton Tarrant, and Elliot Rodger, triangulated with official investigations including the Gjørv Report, the Royal Commission of Inquiry, and law-enforcement case files. The analysis finds no uniform pathway between gaming and radicalization. Instead, gaming assumes three context-specific roles: Sanctuary (an emotional refuge from social failure), Vernacular (a stylistic register rather than an ideological source), or Alibi (a strategic cover for operational preparation). In Rodger's case, an inverse pattern emerges: his radicalization escalated only after he abandoned gaming as sanctuary. These findings indicate that current P/CVE frameworks may misidentify gameplay as a risk factor, while more meaningful indicators lie in abrupt withdrawals from gaming or conflicts such as griefing that destabilize existing online routines.