The imagined communities of Overwatch : democratization of US/Russian cross-cultural communication

Begun in 2016, the Overwatch World Cup brings together the best players form across the globe to fight for national pride and the glory of the game. Massive Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) create a new type of space for communities to develop. However, the two communities formed have differing levels of national identity ‘activation.’ With the worsening relationship between Russia and the United States, these spaces could prove to be a new method of cross-cultural communication that could allow Russians and Americans to interact in an unprecedented way