In the video game Detroit: Become Human (2019), the player, taking on the role of the android named Markus, encounters the African American preacher Gordon Penwick, who admonishes his audience with the following sermon:  “Poor sinners! The end is near! Retribution is at hand. Technology is corrupting us – technology is evil! We are playing God by creating machines, but we are not God! We are nothing but dust. We created the androids in our own image, but they only reflect the darkness in our souls!”

This presentation explores how deities and religions are portrayed in video games and what roles they play within these virtual worlds. The focus is on computer games for adults that have received age classifications of USK 18 or USK 16 from the responsible authority, the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK). The lecture will be visualized using gameplay footage and approaches cultural and religious studies questions from an observational perspective.