Does this also apply to more fantasy oriented war games?
No, the ICRC is talking about video games that simulate real-war situations. It is not suggesting that this apply to games that portray more fictional scenarios such as medieval fantasy or futuristic wars in outer space.
A few media reported that certain virtual acts performed by characters in video games could amount to serious violations of the law of armed conflict. Is this correct?
No. Serious violations of the laws of war can only be committed in real-life. A person cannot commit a war crime simply by playing a video game.
What Senechaud is proposing is that not far off from the Hayes Code.
I don’t think it’s so much that games depicting war crimes shouldn’t be allowed to exist, but rather wanting a game (or more games) to depict realistic consequences.
His stance is also based on the premise that video games now have realistic enough graphics that they could be used to fake footage of real war zones.
That’s not true at all. It’s not about faking footage, it’s about the games being realistic enough to feel immersive. From their website:
The ICRC is concerned that certain game scenarios could lead to a trivialization of serious violations of the law of armed conflict. The fear is that eventually such illegal acts will be perceived as acceptable behaviour.
If their concern was about fake footage, they’d be calling for it not to be depicted at all.