A rumor originating from a Reddit post asserting that Raytheon’s security clearance investigation looks forWar Thunderhas been debunked by a spokesperson from the major defense contractor. Additionally, the Redditor later confirmed that the original post was a fabrication, soWar Thunderplayers needn’t worry about their career prospects.
While this all might seem obviously absurd from the outside, the idea that someone who plays the military vehicular combat gameWar Thundercould be a national security risk is unfortunately backed up by several recent incidents. In July 2021, aWar Thunderplayer leaked classified military documentson the game’s forums to support their argument that the game’s Challenger 2 main battle tank had some discrepancies with the real-life vehicle still in service with the British military. That was only the first incident, and since then there have been several other bewildering cases ofWar Thunderplayers using classified documents to prove a point.
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Several days ago, a Redditor made a post on theWar Thundersubreddit claiming that their friend had secured a job at Raytheon. They claimed that as part of Raytheon’s security clearance investigation, the employee’s contacts were asked “Does he playWar Thunder?” apparently out of concern due to the numerous leaks fromWar Thunderplayers. Several media outlets took this for the truth, and the rumor rapidly spread. Speaking to PCGamesN, a Raytheon spokesperson denied this story, saying that “Though it’s a great story, it’s not true,” and that they couldn’t “imagine a case in which we’d have a concern with any game.” The Redditor eventually confessed that it was just another case of lying on the internet for fun, and apologized for any distress the post may have caused.
This rumor popped up shortly after an incident this month where aWar Thunderplayer leaked military documents again, this time uploading information on the F-16A Fighting Falcon and the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM). Although the information was dated, the F16-A and AIM-120 are still in service and those documents were certainly not meant to be uploaded to a globally accessible message board. Despite being dated, posting the documents violated US regulations on exporting military information abroad. Just a day later, another War Thunderplayer leaked documents regarding the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet.
While the gaming industry is rife with leaks such as the widely publicizedGrand Theft Auto 6leakfrom last year, it’s unusual for leaks to involve classified military documents – unless the leakers in question areWar Thunderplayers, apparently. Regardless, Raytheon doesn’t mind if employees playWar Thunder, and this rumor should be yet another lesson not to believe everything said on the internet.
War Thunderis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
