Pathways (game)

Last updated
Pathways
Developer Shout Out UK
Publisher Shout Out UK
Release2023

Pathways is a game developed by Shout Out UK that emphasizes the "Prevent" aspect of the Home Office's CONTEST counter-terrorism strategy. [1]

Contents

Premise

Pathways stars a male or female [a] protagonist named Charlie, whose reactions to different situations are chosen by the player. In some levels, Charlie is courted by Amelia, a nationalist teenage girl from Bridlington with purple hair. [2] [3]

History

The "Pathways Learning Package" was marketed as a free learning package for "Navigating Gaming, The Internet & Extremism". SOUK developed it in coordination with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the Hull City Council.

Reception

Pathways was the subject of significant criticism from media outlets including The Telegraph and The Spectator , with the game being described by said outlets as "clumsy" and "overtly manipulative." Critics argued that by directing players to report characters for "extreme Right-wing ideology" when questioning immigration policies, the game essentially suppressed free speech through the threat of "Prevent" referrals. [4] [5]

The controversy was heightened on social media after the British online right co-opted the character of Amelia, who had been intended to be an antagonist and a cautionary figure regarding far-right radicalisation, and began sharing AI-generated images and videos where her nationalist and anti-immigrant beliefs were depicted in a more positive light compared to her original in-game version, or where her "cute goth girl" [6] persona was generally used as a symbol of opposition to mass immigration and to the policy positions of Keir Starmer's government. [7] [2] [6]

Reacting to the game's new-found notoriety, SOUK's Matteo Bergamini said that Pathways was never meant to be used in isolation but rather in combination with a suite of teaching resources, [b] and that the nature of the game had been misrepresented; "[it] does not state, for example, that questioning mass migration is inherently wrong." Bergamini also said that the game was still receiving positive feedback from its intended end users. [6]

Notes

  1. ↑ The player can choose whether Charlie appears as a male or female, with both designs being shown on the game's landing page. The in-game text largely uses "they/them" pronouns.
  2. ↑ While an accompanying teacher's guide to the game does have a list of free and paid resources on its last few pages, [8] said teacher's guide is the only additional resource that is directly accessible from the game's landing page.

References

  1. ↑ Stephenson, James. "Hull and East Riding Pathways interactive learning package". Hull Collaborative Partnership. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
  2. 1 2 Knight, Isobel (21 January 2026). "How purple-haired cartoon 'Amelia' became a far-right icon". Searchlight . Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "Pathways". Shout Out UK. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
  4. ↑ Simpson, Craig (9 January 2026). "The Prevent video game that treats every teenager like a far-Right extremist". The Daily Telegraph .
  5. ↑ West, Patrick (12 January 2026). "Why are teachers so obsessed with the 'far right'?". The Spectator .
  6. 1 2 3 Quinn, Ben (25 January 2026). "Meet 'Amelia': the AI-generated British schoolgirl who is a far-right social media star". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Scheffer, Joakim (2026-01-16). "Progressive 'Anti-Far Right' Game Backfires as Antagonist Amelia Becomes Viral Meme". Hungarian Conservative.
  8. ↑ "Pathways Teacher's Guide: Extremism, Youth and Radicalisation" (PDF). Shout Out UK. June 2024. pp. 12–14. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
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