Nonpartisan Mobile Game, Pigeon POOlitics, Launches to Unite Young Voters Ahead of 2020 Election
New game provides a fun, interactive platform for sharing unbiased political news and real-time polling insights among Generation Z and Millennial gamers
Pigeon POOlitics, a zany mobile game featuring pigeons who poop on users' political adversaries, today announced its official launch on the Apple App Store and upcoming debut on the Android App Store Monday, August 10. The game is geared towards the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and designed to connect young voters from both sides of the political spectrum by sharing unbiased political information to help them make better informed choices when voting in the polls this fall.
The vision of the video-game startup is to sprinkle a bit of playful humor into the tense political arena, helping unite the nation’s youth to increase voter turnout among first-timer voters, millennials and Gen Z gamers. With one of the lowest voter turnout rates among the youth, only 43% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 voted in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The game is intended to make the sharing of political news more light-hearted and interactive via the use of animation. To begin, players can select to represent either the Democratic or Republican party, with the option to change parties as they continue on each new level. Currently, there are six levels available in Pigeon POOlitic’s beta version, with additional levels in production. Prior to completing each level, players must face and conquer a “political boss,” which can take on the form of a news anchor, senator or even president.
The app’s main feature, referred to as “poop tracking,” has users control a flock of pigeons to poop on whoever opposes their views, providing real-time insights and opinion polling into which presidential party is least-preferred in each state.
“My whole life changed the day I won the Diversity Visa Lottery (AKA the green card lottery). I grew up in Iran, witnessing a great deal of political unrest,” said Sassan Yousefi, co-founder and CEO of POOlitics. “Coincidentally, I arrived in the United States on November 9th, 2016 – the day Republican nominee Donald Trump became the president-elect, after winning the electoral college. Just a few short years later, I found myself designing an unbiased political video game surrounding the upcoming presidential election.”
In 2019 during Yousefi’s USC graduate program, a mutual friend connected him with Hossein Shahbazi, a seasoned software engineer with blue-chip brand experience under his belt, who had decided to pursue a career in video game development. The two creatives embarked on a nine-month journey to produce a game that would replace misinformation, propaganda and anger with satirical political commentary and news delivery.
“While growing up in a socially isolated, poverty-stricken country run by a corrupt government, video games became my lifeline to sanity, socialization and a creative atmosphere to learn about other worlds,” said Hossein Shahbazi, co-founder and CTO of POOlitics. “So when I came to North America at the age of 22 to become a software engineer, I was fascinated to see freedom of thought and expression. I had never lived in a country where citizens could openly criticize political leaders without being physically harmed or thrown in jail.”
About Pigeon POOlitics:
POOlitics is a zany 2020 nonpartisan mobile gaming app developed as an interactive platform for sharing unbiased political news and real-time polling views. Inspired by the idea to unite the youth of America and provide them with a safe and fun medium to express political interest and healthy debate, ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The game was first released for iOS and Android devices in August 2020.
About Sassan Yousefi:
Sassan Yousefi is co-founder and CEO of Pigeon POOlitics, a mobile gaming app established in anticipation of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. After earning a Bachelor of Architecture at Shahid Beheshti University, he received his Masters of Business Administration at Tehran University and completed a Masters in Construction Management at the University of Southern California.
About Hossein Shahbazi:
Hossein Shahbazi is co-founder and CTO of Pigeon POOlitics, a mobile gaming app established in anticipation of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Shahbazi received a Bachelor of Engineering at Sharif University, and earned a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Alberta. Before making the leap to video-game development, Shahbazi worked as an engineer for blue-chip brands such as Google, and Microsoft, as well as several Silicon Valley startups.
Contact Details
Kelsey Nover
+1 989-277-5089
kelsey@trustrelations.agency
