Watch our documentary, The Great Game: The Making of Spycraft

In 1995, former KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin and ex-CIA Director William Colby collaborated in an unexpected way: they created a video game.

Nearly 30 years later, The Big Game: The Making of Spycraft reveals the story behind the multimillion-dollar spy game that brought together Cold War power players, rising video game publisher Activision, and full-motion video – the cutting-edge interactive technology of its time. You can watch it now above.

Polygon’s first feature documentary is enhanced by new interviews and stories from Jamelle Bouie, New York Times Opinion columnist and co-host of the Unclear and present danger podcast. In the mix are award-winning filmmaker and author Ken Berris; actor Kirk Woller; writer and technical analyst Christina Warren; historian and curator at the International Spy Museum, Dr. Andrew Hammond; Professor and author Maya Vinokour of New York University; and FMV expert and game critic Justin McElroy.

Years ago, when my colleague Clayton Ashley and I first started playing Spycraft: the great game, we were drawn to it by its inherent mystery: how did a game with so much ambition and history fall into obscurity? Today we hope you’ll join us in exploring that question as you dust off this important piece of video game history and give it the attention it has long deserved.