Look, let's be honest: the White House's relentless attempts to leverage gaming for political posturing are wearing thin, and the community is rightfully fed up.

The official White House X account has been churning out doctored images linking games with President Donald Trump. Back in October, they posted an AI-generated image splicing the protagonist of Halo with Trump, and they didn't stop there.They even slapped on the slogan 'Power to the Player'—a phrase borrowed from GameStop. Soon after, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security followed suit, posting footage of a Halo vehicle accompanied by politically charged rhetoric.

Things have taken a darker turn, though. Following the recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the White House posted a video featuring a missile strike scene from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. They even threw in the phrase 'a gift from the U.S.'—a rather grim attempt at a joke during a time of actual, real-world conflict, drawing widespread condemnation.

On the 5th, they also doctored the title of the newly released Pokemon Company game, 'Pokemon Pokopia,' to read 'Make America Great Again.' Many gamers were understandably appalled to see a peaceful, non-combat spin-off title used to frame ongoing geopolitical warfare.

This stunt is bound to leave a sour taste regarding the Pokemon IP. The comments section is already rife with further 'Pokemon Pokopia' parodies bashing Trump, with some users posting content entirely inappropriate for an IP aimed at children. It is a worrying development indeed.