Alleged Game Developer Spy Sentenced To Death In Iran

U.S.-born Amir Mirzaei Hekmati has reportedly confessed in Iran to spying for the CIA and spreading propaganda through Kuma Reality Games, and has been sentenced to death.

Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, confessed on Iranian state TV and in the Islamic Revolutionary Court that he was a CIA spy and had worked for Kuma to spread U.S. propaganda in the Middle East. Whether the confession is real or staged is unknown. Hekmati allegedly said that "[Kuma] was receiving money from the CIA to produce and design and distribute for free special movies and games with the aim of manipulating public opinion in the Middle East. The goal of the company in question was to convince the people of Iran and the people of the entire world that whatever the U.S. does in other countries is a good measure." Hekmati was in Iran visiting family at the time of his arrest.

Kuma Reality Games, based in New York, has worked on a variety of titles, including military games based on real-life situations such as the death of Osama Bin Laden and Assault On Iran, where you could disable the Iranian nuclear program. Kuma has created training programs for the U.S. Army as contract work.

The White House is demanding Hekmati's release and access to legal counsel, and the National Security Council has denied that Hekmati works for the CIA. Neither Kuma nor the CIA have commented on Hekmati's reported status with them.

[New York Times via Kotaku and Gamasutra]