Venezuela’s “Drone Simulator” Looks Like a $3 Steam Game

In the middle of growing tension with the United States, Venezuela has unveiled what it claims is a new drone simulator for its army. The problem? It looks almost identical to a cheap video game sold on Steam for just $3.99, reports Bussines Insider.

The move highlights a curious global trend where the line between gaming and real warfare keeps getting thinner.

Tensions in the Caribbean

The story began on September 2, when the United States claimed it had destroyed a drug-smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela. Since then, Washington has sent more naval forces to the region, raising fears of a larger confrontation.

Amid this backdrop, Venezuela decided to showcase its “technological progress” in drone warfare. The country’s military shared videos from its academy in Caracas, showing young cadets training with drone simulators. The images quickly went viral.

From Steam to the Barracks

According to Insider, the software used by Venezuelan cadets appears almost identical to the Russian game FPV Kamikaze Drone, developed by HFM Games and sold on Steam for under four dollars. The game was meant for fun, not for training soldiers.

The interface, physics, and even the mission menus match the commercial version perfectly. Aleksei Kolotilov, the co-founder of HFM Games, confirmed that his studio never had any contact with the Venezuelan government and never licensed the software for military use.

“Our game was created only for civilian entertainment,” Kolotilov said, joking that if Venezuela wanted to thank them for their “involuntary collaboration,” they could send over a few barrels of oil so he could fix some bugs in the game.

Low-Budget Training and High Rhetoric

In the official video, cadets are shown controlling their “drones” with joysticks and large monitors, while patriotic slogans echo in the background. Around the same time, General Johan Hernández Lárez declared that the young soldiers were “ready to destroy the enemy.”

One cadet proudly demonstrated how his virtual drone crashes into a building complex in a sequence that looks identical to one of the missions in the Russian game.

In another clip, a uniformed presenter thanks the Armed Forces for their “joint effort” in acquiring the simulators. Rows of cadets can be seen practicing side by side in what looks more like a gaming arcade than a military training facility.

From Ukraine to Venezuela

The use of FPV (first-person view) drones in warfare has skyrocketed since the conflict in Ukraine. These small, agile drones are flown using goggles that make the pilot feel as if they are inside the aircraft. They have become a low-cost and deadly tool for precision attacks.

Ukrainian soldiers often train with simulators too, but they eventually have to prove their skill in real combat. Many armies have followed this model, blending digital practice with physical tests. For Venezuela, which faces economic hardship and international sanctions, that full transition might not be so easy.

Symbolism Over Substance

The adoption of a cheap video game as a supposed military simulator perfectly captures Venezuela’s current reality. The country’s military loves to project an image of power, but often lacks the resources to match it. With limited access to international technology and funding, the use of a civilian game may be both a propaganda gesture and a sign of desperation. It is, in essence, a low-cost illusion of modernization.

Still, the story reflects something larger than Venezuela’s predicament. Across the world, the gap between video games and military training keeps closing. Soldiers now learn tactics using the same kind of software teenagers use for fun. The virtual battlefield is becoming indistinguishable from the real one.

DroneXL’s Take

This is one of those stories that is both funny and unsettling. On one hand, it’s hard not to laugh at an army turning a Steam game into an official training tool. On the other, it shows how rapidly gaming technology is blending with real-world warfare. Today’s “toys” can easily become tomorrow’s weapons. And sometimes, all it takes is a $3 game to make that line disappear.

Photo credit: Steam, Instagram