Sky to adapt 2025’s scariest podcast into immersive new documentary series – and it will completely change your fears about ‘World War III’

Sky prepares to adapt its political podcast 2025 The war game as a new “immersive” documentary series of the same name
British politicians including Michael Gove, Nicola Sturgeon and Penny Mordaunt will form a fake government cabinet facing the threat of war from Russia.
Coming to Sky and NOW TV in September 2026

Sky has announced plans to adapt its hit political podcast from 2025 The war game as an “immersive” documentary service available on both the streamer and NOW TV in September 2026.

The premise will remain the same across four 60-minute episodes, which “take viewers beyond the news cycle and behind closed doors into a sealed COBR-style situation room where real-world senior politicians, military leaders and intelligence chiefs are challenged to confront a high-stakes scenario: a Russian attack on British soil.”

The war game is set six months in the future and was developed in collaboration with leading academics, military and defense experts to replicate the pressure of political decision-making at the highest levels.

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A fake government cabinet sits around a meeting table

(Image credit: Sky)

Although the podcast was punctuated over five episodes instead of four, we can expect the distribution of The war game follow the same format.

Episode 1 sets the scene, with a number of seemingly unrelated attacks and issues across the UK, potentially orchestrated by Russian intelligence services. In Episode 2, Russia launches its first large-scale attack, with the Prime Minister set to address the nation in a time of unprecedented crisis in Episode 3.

Episode 4 is where the British defense begins to fight back, but is about to lose. This all culminates in the negotiation of a potential ceasefire in Episode 5, which, as you might expect, isn’t too simple.

If this premise sounds horrible, that’s because it is. When the podcast first launched on Spotify, Apple, and other services, I played it to everyone I knew. For what? It addresses a reality that no one in the current government wants to freely admit: the British defense system is almost non-existent.

The war game concludes that the United Kingdom is vulnerable to almost every type of combative attack possible and would most likely be defeated (or at least left in a very worrying state). This encourages greater awareness among us all and will hopefully lead to critical conversations.

If you’re wondering why a podcast would openly admit a country’s lack of protection to an international audience, The war gameRussia’s slogan answers this for us: “Russia knows our weaknesses, but you?

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