Special Force (2003 video game)

Special Force
Developer(s)Hadeel
Publisher(s)Hezbollah Central Internet Bureau
EngineGenesis3D
Platform(s)Windows
Release16 February 2003
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Special Force (Arabic: القوة الخاصة, romanizedAl-Quwwa al-Khāṣṣa) is a 2003 first-person shooter produced by the Central Internet Bureau of Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group. The game recreates battles from the South Lebanon conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, with the player assuming the role of a Hezbollah fighter tasked with defeating Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah conceived the game immediately after the conflict ended in 2000 and developed it with the company Hadeel over more than two years. Special Force was released in February 2003 in several Arab countries and sold 18,000 copies by September. Regarded as propaganda and a recruitment tool, the game was condemned by Jewish organisations and Israeli officials. It was cited as a role reversal of games like America's Army and noted for its outdated technology. Special Force 2: Tale of the Truthful Pledge, a sequel based on the 2006 Lebanon War between the same sides, was released in August 2007 to limited success.