Not For Broadcast

Not For Broadcast
DeveloperNotGames
PublishertinyBuild
Directors
  • Alex Paterson
  • Jason Orbaum
  • George Vere (The Telethon)
Producers
  • Andy Murray
  • Denis Sewell
  • Zara Coombes (film)
Designers
  • Andy Murray
  • Alex Paterson
Programmers
  • Jason Orbaum
  • George Burchmore
  • Peter Champion
Artists
  • Alex Paterson
  • Denis Sewell
  • Zara Coombes
Writers
  • Jason Orbaum
  • Alex Paterson
  • Andy Murray
  • George Vere (The Telethon)
Composers
  • Jason Orbaum
  • Christopher Brown
  • Nigel Honney-Bayes (The Timeloop)
  • Gabi King (The Timeloop)
EngineUnity
Platforms
Release
  • Windows
  • 25 January 2022
  • Quest 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
  • 23 March 2023
GenreGovernment simulation
ModeSingle-player

Not For Broadcast is a full motion propaganda simulator developed by British video game studio NotGames and published by tinyBuild. The game released with its first episode in early access on 30 January 2020. The full game, including the third and final episode, was released worldwide on 25 January 2022 for Windows. The game was released for Meta Quest 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 23 March 2023.

The game takes place in an unnamed European country (resembling the United Kingdom) in the mid-1980s, where a new populist socialist political party named Advance has won a surprise landslide election victory and begins to handle the country in an increasingly authoritarian dystopian fashion, forcing redistribution of wealth and nationalisation of several large corporations. The player takes the role of Alex Winston, a studio director in a national television station, having to produce a live broadcast, play adverts, censor swear words, and avoid interference in an effort to keep the viewership high.

On early access release, Not For Broadcast received positive reviews, with praise going to its gameplay and mechanics. Early versions were criticised for confusing political storytelling and dissonance in tone.