History Main / EnemyCivilWar

* ''Manga/GushingOverMagicalGirls'': this is how Tres Magia see Enormeeta fighting Lord's Legion; specifically Magenta thinks they should intervene, but Sulfur thinks it would be best to let the two sides fight it out and then crush the winner when they would be at their weakest point.

** The Marines are the faction with the greatest unity, following the rule of "Absolute Justice". However, it's clear that some of the officers don't give a crap about justice and just want the perks that come with their power. Then there are those Marines that don't follow "[[WellIntentionedExtremist Absolute Justice]]" but follow their own personal brand of "Justice" (usually called "[[LawfulGood Moral Justice]]" but some characters develop their own, such as Aokiji's "[[BrilliantButLazy Lazy Justice]]"), such as Admiral Aokiji and Captain/Commodore/[[spoiler:Vice-Admiral]] Smoker.

** ''[[Recap/AsterixAndTheGoths Asterix and the Goths]]'' does this. Getafix gives all sorts of random people a potion, claiming it will make them stronger. Conveniently, they all have a lust for power, so a huge war begins between all of the factions of the Goths.

* ''VideoGame/MythTheFallenLords'': Balor's revived generals continue to bear personal grudges from their living existence centuries before. The Watcher and the Deceiver end up fighting each other in the mission "Seven Gates", and you are tasked with exploiting the mess caused by their clash.

* ''VideoGame/{{Iconoclasts}}'': Agent Chrome eventually gets a swelled head that he's some sort of savior who needs to displace Mother and rule the One Concern. After the boss fight against Mother, his proselytizing splits the One Concern into two factions: those loyal to Mother, and those loyal to Chrome. When PlayerCharacter Robin reaches Chrome, he gives a MotiveRant about how he believes it is his destiny to usurp even the Starworm (effectively, the god of this settin) and start things over. [[spoiler:This lasts up until Elro injects Chrome with his two-part serum, which causes Chrome to have a VillainousBreakdown when he realizes he's going to die, showing that this thin veneer of charm and religious preaching was all just [[MaskOfSanity an act for a self-serving jerk]].]]
* The Xen invaders in ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' encounter the humans of Earth fighting each other, while both the Marines and [[strike:the scientists]] [[BadassBookworm Gordon]] [[OneManArmy Freeman]] try to kill the aliens.
** And then, later, once Race X enters the picture, they encounter the Marines fighting the Black Ops.
** Some enemy types will fight each other, as well. IE Bullsquid ''hate'' Headcrabs and will kill them on-sight. Race X Shock Troopers are also shown opening fire on a Xen Gargantua late in ''Opposing Force''.

* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series has a few:
** The big one is the Great Schism (or the Covenant Civil War) which began in ''VideoGame/Halo2'', resulting in an EnemyMine situation between the Humans, the Elites, and some of the Grunts and Hunters who joined them.
** In the novel ''Literature/HaloGlasslands'', which takes place after ''VideoGame/Halo3'', the UNSC's Office of Naval Intelligence ''thinks'' they're creating one. Basically, ONI sends a squad of [[BadassNormal ODSTs]], a [[SuperSoldier Spartan]], and a [[AIIsACrapshoot crazy AI]] to Sanghelios (the Elite homeworld) in order to fuel the fires of a civil war in order to keep them unbalanced while the UNSC rebuilds ([[RightHandVersusLeftHand all of this is without the approval or even knowledge of UNSC High Command]]). However, Sanghelios's most prominent leader, the Arbiter, is already trying to get his people to ''not'' attack humanity; all ONI is doing is making his job harder. The sequel ''Literature/HaloTheThursdayWar'' shows that events don't go as planned by ONI. The ONI-backed Elites don't get enough support but still start the fight, but it looks like the Arbiter is going to win. However, the Arbiter then permits the above-mentioned team to enter a Forerunner relic on Sanghelios in order to retrieve a human scientist captured by the rebels. This ends up turning a large portion of the Sangheili against the Arbiter, and it looks like the rebels may win in a very short while. This is also not the result ONI wants, as the rebels are religious fanatics who hate the humans with a passion. Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the head of ONI, convinces Admiral Terrence Hood to bring UNSC ''Infinity'', the fleet's newest flagship and the most powerful vessel in known space, to Sanghelios and rain DeathFromAbove on the fanatics. However, in order to maintain the strife, ONI proceeds to destroy equal numbers of ships both those loyal to the Arbiter and the fanatics. Despite the mess, the Arbiter is eventually able to solidify himself as the main leader of the Elites, and [[spoiler:manages to wipe out all the fanatics on Sanghelios by the end of ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'']].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'', the Taiidan empire is a decadent, despotic place. An incipient rebellion has been forming for some time before the game, but the appearance of the highly successful Kushan struggling to reach their eponymous Homeworld has emboldened them to resist and join the player's cause. Ambiguously canon sequel/"standalone expansion" ''Cataclysm'' further explores the consequences of the Taiidani Emperor's death, with the surviving [[TheRemnant Imperial Loyalists]] and various FormerRegimePersonnel who've become warlords or pirates being the primary antagonists in early missions.
* Civil wars abound in the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe:
** In ''VideoGame/WarcraftII'', Gul'dan betrays the Horde on the eve of their victory by taking off with the Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer clans to search for the Tomb of [[TheDevil Sargeras]]. While this still left plenty of troops for Orgrim Doomhammer's siege of the Capital City of Lordaeron, Orgrim chooses honor over victory and sends the Blackrock clan, which constitutes a good third of the Horde forces, after the renegades. With the main [[TheAlliance Alliance]] army about to arrive and box him in, Orgrim is forced to call a retreat so close to victory[[note]]this is ''not'' what happened in the actual game -- the Horde actually ''wins'' at Lordaeron despite having to send off forces after Gul'dan in the Horde campaign, and in the Alliance campaign the Horde never reaches Lordaeron's capital, but the expansion and then ''III'' went with a blend of both campaigns having canonically happened, with the Alliance ending taking precedence in an inverse of how Warcraft ''I'' was handled.[[/note]]. Furthermore, the battle between the renegades and the Blackrock clan results in the complete destruction or the renegade clans through sheer attrition (the orcs aren't known for their battle tactics). The seriously reduced Blackrock clan is further devastated by Admiral Proudmore's surprise attack at sea, leaving only a few thousand clan members alive. The war goes pretty much downhill for the orcs at this point. Even killing the supreme commander of the Alliance forces doesn't help, as Lothar's place is immediately taken by Turalyon.
** The Orcs as a whole, who made up the bulk of the Horde in the days of ''Warcraft'' and ''Warcraft II'', were serving as pawns of demonic controllers until they broke out of their bondage just before ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII''.
** The Blood Elves originally split from the Alliance during ''Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne'' after deciding they'd had enough abuse from a [[FantasticRacism racist Human commander]]. Later on, the Blood Elves had their own schism, after discovering that their leader and his forces defected to the same demonic controllers that had the Orcs under their thumbs.
** Illidan's forces ''also'' split from the Burning Legion.
** The Scourge were once the Burning Legion's second choice of pawns after they lost their reins on the Orcs. However, they too have turned against their demonic overlords.
** The Forsaken are a faction of the Scourge who rebelled against the Lich King, reclaimed their free will, and now help the Horde fight their former undead fellows. It's arguable how "good" they are, as the race as a whole is ''at least'' [[DarkIsNotEvil dark]], with a few redemption/[[VampireRefugee cure seekers]], while others either actively bask in evil or revel in their undead natures.
** The Forsaken later undergo ''another'' internal civil war during the ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' expansion ''Wrath of the Lich King'', as [[spoiler: traitors under the dreadlord Varimathras unleash the Forsaken's secret plague weapon against both the Scourge and against ''everyone'' attacking the Lich King, and nearly kill the Forsaken queen Sylvanas Windrunner to boot. This conveniently acts a cathartic experience to solidify the relatively "loyal" Forsaken to the service of the Horde, purging the nasty hints that have foreshadowed the race's untrustworthiness from the very beginning of the game]].
** Also, the Death Knights of the Ebon Blade. After being freed from the Lich King's control, the Death Knights vowed to take vengeance on Arthas and use their unholy powers against him. However, they're still met with distrust and fear by the other factions, and the Ebon Blade's interests don't necessarily coincide with their allies' at times.
** This is happening to the Horde in ''Mists of Pandaria''; which is unusual in that it's a player faction, but it is an ''Enemy'' Civil War in the eyes of the Alliance. With Garrosh passing the MoralEventHorizon by dropping a mana bomb on Theramore and only getting worse as time goes on, Baine and Vol'jin have begun expressing doubts about Garrosh. [[spoiler:Vol'jin is later attacked by Garrosh's personal Kor'kron guard and left to die.]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Gallywix]], meanwhile, seems intent to please Garrosh in ''Tides of War'', and as of patch 5.1 the [[spoiler:blood elf purge in Dalaran]] has pushed Lor'themar and the blood elves farther away from Garrosh than ever; in fact, in 5.2, Lor'themar is specifically looking for a weapon to use against Garrosh. 5.3 confirms Sylvanas is on Vol'jin's side, but it remains to be seen where Ji Firepaw will end up in the conflict.
*** Meanwhile, King Varian has been watching the events of 5.3 while preparing his navy for an attack on Orgrimmar. He sends a letter to the players saying that he doesn't trust Vol'jin, but trusts the players' discretion in helping the Darkspear because every Orc and Troll that dies fighting each other is one less Alliance soldier lost in the fight.

* In ''VideoGame/StarControlII'', the main villain at first appears to be the Ur-Quan Kzer-za, a fanatical race who want to enslave all other life in the galaxy. [[spoiler: As it turns out, the Ur-Quan species is split between the aforementioned Kzer-za and the even ''more'' extreme [[OmnicidalManiac Kohr-ah]], who instead want to ''kill'' all other life in the galaxy. And the Kzer-za were protecting you from them. And the Kohr-Ah are winning, because [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the good guys took out about a third of the Kzer-Za combat fleet in a recent war.]] Your first priority now becomes stopping the Kohr-ah]]
** You can also cause a Yehat civil war between the Starship and the Royal clans. Subverted in that the Starship clans are friendly to your cause and will help you in the end.
* The first level of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' takes place during a battle between rebels and a mercenary army, who will attack anyone who does not belong to their faction. While the mercenaries work for the BigBad, they are only in the city because someone hired them, and the rebels really have no interest in Snake's mission at all.
** You can use this to your advantage, too. If you start gunning down mercenaries or covering the rebels, they'll [[EnemyMine see you as an ally instead.]] This turns the first mission from a StealthBasedMission into a "enter the base completely unhindered and take all their items" mission.
* Since ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' puts the player on all sides of the conflict, just about any civil war that happens in-game counts as one:
** The Terrans of the Korpulu Sector have had tons of civil wars. The planet of Korhal rose up against the Terran Confederacy until it was nuked to glass, and the Sons of Korhal carried on the fight. When the Confederacy fell and the Sons of Korhal formed the Terran Dominion to take its place, remnants of the Confederacy formed the Confederate Resistance Forces, led by Samir Duran.
** On the Zerg side of things, the player must at one point fight a rogue brood after its cerebrate has been murdered by the protagonist factions, while the expansion revolves around a massive civil war following the death of the [[HiveMind Overmind]].
** For the Protoss, there's Tassadar's rebellion in the original, and then a brief relapse led by Aldaris during the expansion.
** The second game continues this tradition. While the Terran Dominion has taken the place of the former Confederacy, the Kel-Morians and the Umojans are both still in existence, plus Raynor's Raiders leading an insurrection against the Dominion from within. Kerrigan, having engineered her Brood Mothers to believe in AsskickingLeadsToLeadership full-stop, ends up having to fight one of her own who felt she had gone soft. Meanwhile, although the Khahai and Dark Templar factions of Protoss seem to have gotten along nicely (even to the point that their militaries have a unified chain of command and have co-engineered new technologies such as the Void Ray), a new splinter group has arisen in the Tal'Darim, who are loyal to Amon.
* The Locust from ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' heads in this route, after the COG discover their enemies are waging the war on another front against their Lambent counterparts in ''Gears of War 2''. The last game reveals [[spoiler: this has been going on years ''before'' the first game; in fact, this trope was the whole reason behind the Human-Locust War, as the Locust couldn't find a quick enough solution to destroy the Lambent]].
* The Red Dragon Organization vs. The Black Dragon Organization from ''Franchise/MortalKombat''.
* ''Franchise/{{Star Wars|ExpandedUniverse}}: VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed,'' sorta. Does one man vs. the rest of the army count? Does it count if [[OneManArmy those are even odds]]?
** ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Jedi Academy]]'' has one mission with a situation like this, on the planet Yalara where Jaden is sent to destroy a cloaking device; he ends up in a three-way battle between him, the Imperial Remnant, and some alien assassins Darth Vader had left there years before.
** The dark side ending of ''Academy'' is also a three-way war between the Jedi, the Dark Jedi, and the evil player. Which itself was kind of a ripoff of the original ''Jedi Knight'', in which the dark side ending is still a war between the player and the Dark Jedi, except the player's also a Dark Jedi.
** If you maxed out Mind Trick, which at its highest level converts a non-Jedi enemy to your side for 30 seconds, it's also possible to ''create'' an Enemy Civil War simply by performing Mind Trick on half a roomful of enemy mooks.
** And in ''Outcast'', Fyyar intends to overthrow Desann. Of course, the guy was insane.
** To make sure [[NoCampaignForTheWicked a campaign with the Empire]] is acceptable, ''VideoGame/TIEFighter'' spends more time with battles against Imperial splinters than with the Rebel Alliance.
** ''VideoGame/TheJediMasters'' has an example with Kannos' takeover of Hulas' [=GenoHaradan=]. When plotting with the [=GenoHaradan=] leaders against Hulas, he made the heads extremely paranoid of each other, resulting in infighting. Hulas himself was finished off by Kannos when the other [=GenoHaradan=] leaders were all dead.
* ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|THQ}}'' has the Yakuza mook-army attacking the various factions that the Punisher has weakened. In one moment in the Kingpin's lobby, just wait in the elevator until the Yazuka has weakened the Kingpin's security forces.

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' Underground had a cheat, "Civil War Mode", which caused enemies to kill each other.
* The first warehouse level in the first ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' game had Gabe caught between [=PharCom=] forces and Rhoemer's private army.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'': The Subspace Emissary has the VillainTeamUp degrade into this after King Dedede turns out to be TheMole, and Ganondorf attempts to [[HijackedByGanon hijack the plot]] by offing Bowser and then ''[[TheStarscream attacking Master Hand.]]'' [[spoiler:It's too bad [[TheManBehindTheMan Tabuu]] beat him to it.]]
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': In World of Light, Galeem's acquaintance, [[spoiler:Dharkon, ambushes Galeem and attempts to take over Galeem's project of capturing every capable fighter in the universe.]] In the TrueEnding, the battle is technically you versus the both of them, but not only do neither of them try to assist the other, both of them will sometimes create groups of replicas of playable characters as enemies--which then immediately start fighting each other instead of you.
* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather: The Game'', it is possible to have gangsters from the different families fighting between each other, though it's more likely that [[EverythingTryingToKillYou they'll be attacking you]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheSuffering'', the monsters will sometimes attack each other. Unlike ''Doom'', they don't have to hit each other, or even be particularly close. It's not just entertaining, it helps drive home the idea that the monsters are literal incarnations of hate and rage.
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', the player learns that [[spoiler:the Geth are split into two factions: the main "True" geth that have no real hostility towards organics and sent Legion to help you, and the splinter-faction "Heretics" who follow [[EldritchAbomination The Reapers]] and are the ones you fought in the first game]]. You're later able to resolve this by [[spoiler:reprogramming the Heretics to return to the True Geth or destroying the majority of the Heretics.]] However, since there's no real fighting between the two sides, it can hardly be called a war.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda:''
** The Outcasts and the Collective fight for control of Kadara, but both sides are willing to take shots at Ryder should they pass by.
** One sidequest late in the game has a group of kett, who are brainwashed into obedience to their superiors, fighting one another. Ryder can follow them to figure out what's going on, [[spoiler:the second in-command of their forces is trying to get her boss deposed because she's gotten fed up of his behaviour. If the player leaves the quest unfinished until after dealing with the Big Bad, it'll turn out her side wins decisively.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} II'' played this trope incredibly straight, in a way. In a war, if you captured the enemy's capital and they were sufficiently large enough or advanced enough, the civilization would split into two factions who would then immediately declare war on each other. While in a couple of turns they would establish peaceful relationships, this was a very powerful way to mess up stronger civs.
* This appears in several games in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series, at least from the perspective of other factions:
** In ''[[VideoGame/MedievalTotalWar Medieval: Total War]]'', a faction who's royal family was destroyed, or who possessed a particularly weak monarch, could suffer rebellion as rival claimants attempted to seize the throne for themselves.
** In both ''Medieval'' and ''[[VideoGame/MedievalIITotalWar Medieval 2]]'', Catholic factions who have been excommunicated may suffer from widespread hostility from Papal loyalists, which can be seen as an Enemy Civil War from the perspective of any Muslim factions holding the Holy Land at that point. When the French are sending crusaders to Frankfurt, they're not sending them to Jerusalem....
** The ''Barbarian Invasion'' expansion to ''[[VideoGame/RomeTotalWar Rome]]'' also featured possible civil wars in the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, as well as the division of the Gothic faction into Ostrogoths and Visigoths.
** ''VideoGame/EmpireTotalWar'' includes emergent factions which can emerge into dissatisfied regions of an existing faction, e.g. Ireland, Scotland and the United States may rebel against British rule.
* The Archers from ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' will attack anyone on a roof who isn't another guard. This isn't limited to Ezio or thieves, but also pickpockets and Borgia Couriers, who are also enemies of Ezio. In Bonfire of the Vanities you will see Borgia agents and guards fighting Savonarola's loyalists even though both sides appear as red (i.e. hostile) in Eagle Vision.
** Can be invoked in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations''. Ottoman and Byzantine Templar guards will get into fights if they see each other, and one tutorial specifically tells you to make use of this.
** Happens in one point in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' when [[spoiler:Benjamin Church]] abandons the Templars and steals their resources for his own profits, causing the Assassins and the Templars to have a rare EnemyMine moment when fighting him.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'' features a heavy conflict between the 2 factions of Templars, divided between classic Templar Aristocrats and newer Mercantile templars. While the series is kicked off by the death of the aristocrat leader, the fight lasts the whole game, and ends [[spoiler: with both factions destroyed, though the merchant templars's goals were accomplished.]]
* Storywise, happens frequently in ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'' with the [[BugWar Hiver]] race between the many Princesses vying for power (from the viewpoint of another race, of course). Also entirely possible with any race, as brilliantly worked into the {{backstory}} by Arinn Dembo, the game's writer. [[HumansAreBastards Humans]], as we know, can easily split into factions and fight amongst each other for trivial reasons. The same is true for the [[LizardFolk Tarka]]. The [[SapientCetaceans Liir]] will fight anyone they believe has become [[EldritchAbomination Suul'ka]], even members of their own race. [[spoiler: Which makes a lot of sense in light of the sequel revealing exactly what the Suul'ka are.]] The [[AncientAstronauts Morrigi]] have never been a unified species. The [[PlanetLooters Zuul]], being [[KnightTemplar religious fanatics]], worship their [[AbusivePrecursors creators]]; and, of course, no one has ''[[SarcasmMode ever]]'' split into factions if they believe in the same deity.
** In an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEosa3IqQkE interview]] at the announcement of ''Sword of the Stars 2'', Arinn Dembo revealed that the Zuul will split into two factions: the ones who follow their evil masters, and the ones who choose to side with the other races against them. Specifically, they're allying with the Liir.
*** Specifically, the Prester Zuul have renounced their faith in the Great Masters, and many of them have turned to Catholicism. Several Zuul are fully-ordained Catholic priests, by the way. They also have begun to use their MindRape powers ''for good'', specifically, to excise violent memories from Liir spacers, which usually cause them to go insane after a while.
* Can occur in ''VideoGame/{{Conduit 2}}'' when aliens of opposition factions engage each other.
* ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' has the Tasen-Komato War, which is central to the plot. The Tasen only invaded Earth in the first place to flee the Komato, and in gameplay, enemies will prioritize shooting the other alien race over shooting Iji.

* ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings 2'' has this happen on an extremely regular basis. It's quite likely a faction that's under a lot of military stress will begin to fragment as dissatisfied vassals decide to make a play for independence. Also, if you want to get really broad with your definition of a civil war, it's not uncommon for wars between Christian kingdoms to severely weaken the forces available for a crusade. This is less common for Muslims, as both their Caliphs are part of extremely powerful kingdoms, but occasionally there will be a ill/well timed throwdown between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
** ''The Old Gods'', the expansion pack that adds flavor to pagan nations and allows the player to select them, deliberately sets this up among the more warlike pagans as a means of balancing out their aggressive tendencies. They're stuck on gavelkind succession[[note]]Titles are divided equally among all heirs when the ruler dies[[/note]] and tripling the relations penalty for new rulers, ensuring that the pagans will be as busy fighting one another as their non-pagan foes.
* Strongly implied in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'', though the series' love of enviromental storytelling means it's not explicitly stated anywhere: Throughout Lothric Castle, the Ashen One runs into Lothric Knights clad in blue and red, with the red ones surrounded by blue corpses and vice versa. Based on how they protect the princes' quarters and the high priestess Emma, the red knigths seem to be loyalists, while the blue knights, based on their use of miracles and ornamental (or [[WingedHumanoid literal]]) wings, appear to be followers of Gertrude and the heretical Angelic Faith she founded.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'': Team Plasma has separated into two forces since the previous game: Old Team Plasma, wearing the classic 'knight' uniform, [[spoiler:following N]], and acting as TheAtoner, and New Team Plasma, wearing a new 'pirate' uniform, [[spoiler:following Ghetsis]], and trying to take over Unova the [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue old-]][[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver fash]][[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire ioned]] [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl way]]...this time with Kyurem, the 3rd dragon left over from Reshiram and Zekrom's creation.
* ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'': All of the supervillians banded together in forming the Syndicate to harness the power of iso-8. But when the Red Skull is resurrected, the Syndicate starts falling apart as Skull orders HYDRA into attacking mutants even the ones aligned with the Syndicate, then everyone else. Soon several supervillians started rallying to whoever's the strongest. Dr. Doom on the other hand, just sits back and watch the fireworks as it's all part of his plan.

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': True to form, the ink wasn't even dry on the worthless Treaty of Coruscant than the Sith started infighting, backstabbing, and splintering off into their own feifs. Lord Grantham operated his own kingdom ''[[RefugeInAudacity a stone's throw from the Empire's capital city]]'' with relative impunity. Lord Trok in the Bounty Broker's event was a greedy witch who decided that being a crime boss was more fun than being a ruler in the Empire. Lord Scourge realizes the Emperor is omnicidally insane and forms an EnemyMine situation with the Jedi Knight. The Inquisitor and Warrior also amass a faction and overthrow members of the Dark Council. And Darth Malgus (the Sith who led the most devastating attack on the Republic; the sacking/destruction of the Jedi Temple) decides he's had enough of the Empire's policies and makes his own army of mostly "alien" species, attacking both the Empire and the Republic. And then the Dread Masters the Empire free on Belsalvis turn out to be something beyond mere insanity, turning on the Empire (but also attacking the Republic). At this rate, all the Republic has to do HoldTheLine while watching their enemies self-destruct.
* One version of ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' had an unintentional example caused by a GoodBadBug. Somehow, goblins were divided on whether or not they were loyal to Non-goblin leaders of goblin civilizations. This caused Goblin ambushes and sieges to immediately start killing each other as soon as they arrived on the map.
* ''Videogame/{{Warframe}}'': The Gradivus Dilemma bankrupted the [[OneNationUnderCopyright Corpus]] leader, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Alad V]]. When he taunts the [[ProudWarriorRace Tenno]] by claiming he has "[[TheyWouldCutYouUp plans]]" for their brethren in [[HumanPopsicle cryostasis]], the rest of the Corpus board of directors and Frohd Bek in particular hunt him down with the [[EnemyMine aid of the Tenno]] to reclaim his debts and extract revenge for provoking the Tenno.
-->'''Frohd Bek''': The Tenno are too dangerous, too profitable, to provoke! [[TheyWouldCutYouUp Project Zanuka]] was a bad paradigm. A costly miscalculation. But don't worry Alad, I'll keep your credits warm when you are gone.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'': While there haven't been any real fighting between them seen yet, it turns out that [[spoiler: Sela's disappearance]] led to the Tal Shiar and the more properly Imperial loyalist forces splintering from each-other. It may be highlighted more than previously with the Imperialists rejuvenated by [[spoiler: Sela's return]].
* In ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'', the military-inspired NebulousEvilOrganization ''Gessellschaft'' develops a serious case of this. The two more powerful leaders, Mycale and Murakumo, are at each other's throats to dominate the group and have a chance to TakeOverTheWorld, and at the same time other members like [[spoiler: Adler]] and [[spoiler: Perfecti]] have their own goals and ideas....
* This will sometimes happen in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. You can occasionally trick different enemy types into attacking each other (such as bandits and wildlife) and some areas will have two different types of enemy spawn in the same zone that are always hostile to each other (like, say, psychos and corporate troops). It's not out of the question to wait for enemy ranks to thin out, but that means you don't get experience and loot... and that's what you're there for after all. As a result, throwing a grenade into an inter-enemy melee just as one side is about to win is a great way to liven things up and reap the rewards.
* Commonly found in ''VideoGame/{{Condemned Criminal Origins}}''. Mooks tend to fight one another so often that it's practically a gameplay strategy to stand back and wait it out.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'', due to the [[WeAREStrugglingTogether fighting between the factions]] as well as the views towards the Jennerit's actions in aiding the Varelsi under Rendain, most see the rebel conflict in the Imperium as this. As such, many like the top brass of the UPR would rather leave the Jennerit to their own affairs rather than [[EnemyMine trust and ally]] with the rebels. This is best seen in Chapter 3 of the motion webcomic wherein Ghalt's superiors would rather have him leave Rath and Ambra to their doom than rescue them and gain the support they could potentially provide.
* ''VisualNovel/{{Sunrider}}:'' After [[TheDragon Veniczar]] [[NobleTopEnforcer Fontana]] gets fed up with the excessive cruelty and megalomania of his boss [[BigBad Veniczar Arcadius]] [[spoiler:and shoots her in the face]] at the end of ''Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius'', the PACT splits into two factions in the sequel: one loyal to Arcadius, and one loyal to Fontana. The latter faction [[EnemyMine allies itself with]] Kayto Shields and the Solar Alliance in order to deal with Arcadius[[note]](who survived due to being [[IAmLegion a collective of]] [[ExpendableClone Expendable Clones]] with a HiveMind rather than an individual)[[/note]] once and for all and bring an end to the PACT-Alliance war.
* Since victory in the CosmicChessGame that drives the series is a prize that [[AllOrNothing only one]] of them can win, the three Dark Powers in ''VideoGame/NexusClash'' inevitably wind up at each others' throats. PlayerCharacter demons are ''usually'' unaffected by this and manage to work together against the angels reasonably well.
* The first expansion for ''VideoGame/GalacticCivilizations II'' focuses on one happening to the Drengin Empire after they conquered just about everyone else in the galaxy. Just as they're preparing to move in on the last remnants of resistance, however, the Korath Clan is discovered to be committing genocide on those they conquer. This makes the rest of the Drengin very angry (not because of moral scruples, but because killing everyone means there's no one left to be their slaves), and the Empire dissolves into civil war between the Korath and the rest of the Drengin. This doesn't weaken them enough to allow their overthrow, but it does grant the heroic civilizations some breathing room and a foothold to keep fighting back.

* A late-game objective in ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'' involves abducting high-ranking members of the various Forces of Justice and replacing them with your own minions in disguise, thereby inciting one of these. Due to questionable programming, this doesn't show in gameplay as often as one would hope -- they're more likely to [[GangUpOnTheHuman team up to take you down]], as always.
* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' features one between [[PlayingWithFire Dario Bossi]] and [[PowerCopying Dmitrii Blinov]], egged on by [[BigBad Celia Fortner]] into competing for the position of Dracula, left vacant by [[AntiAntiChrist Soma Cruz]]. [[spoiler: Depending on the ending, either [[RogueProtagonist Soma Cruz]] or [[TheStarscream Dmitrii Blinov]] wins.]]
* While ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' usually goes for multipolar conflict where the reason your enemies are fighting is that they never were part of the same group to start with[[note]]for example, Tatalia and Krewlod break down into fighting after invading Erathia... but they do so because they weren't allies in their invasions (they just both separately had gotten the idea to take advantage of Erathia's weakness to expand their borders) and only hadn't fought earlier because Erathia was in the way[[/note]]. ''II'' shows how very useful it can be to your side by having both campaigns start with you having to subjugate the lords closest to your chosen claimant's castle, who refuse to swear allegiance to him, but also fight along themselves, with a later mission being almost exactly the same except this time the lords ''[[AvertedTrope are]]'' allied to one another against you.
* In ''Videogame/AIWarFleetCommand'''s sequel, ''AI War 2'', it's perfectly possible to set up two different [=AIs=], which are usually utterly cooperative, against each other. You would think it'd only be good news for you, the LastBastion of humanity and a problem neither of the computers sees as worth distracting itself with, but the problem is, you lose the very few advantages the sheer assymmetry of you vs. the AI had. Back then, [[NotWorthKilling it had zero reason to bring full power to bear from the start]]. When facing an equal enemy, the interstellar war equivalent of a whiffed punch (in this case, [[ThatOneBoss Extragalactic War ships]] out the wazoo just passing by incidentally) can wipe you out five times over if you're there to catch it. You have little time to sit and plot the next move against an enemy that's distracted elsewhere, you need to desperately stay afloat through the sheer whitewater chaos of the AI being distracted against an equal force that is ''right there'', and also hates you.
* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'':
** ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank'': The Extermibots and amoeboids on Rilgar will attack each other. Justified as the Extermibots are actually a police force sent to destroy the amoeboids, but they are for some reason hostile toward Ratchet as well.
** This occurs again in [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando the sequel]], where the Extermibots will attack both Ratchet and the Protopets. This time, they actually have a [[JustifiedTrope justified reason]] to do so: they were programmed to destroy anything small and fuzzy (i.e. the Protopets). Unfortunately for Ratchet, ''[[SuspectIsHatless he]]'' [[SuspectIsHatless also fits that description]], so...
* This is implied to be the case in the three ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' games with the three clans of Immortals, the Death Clan led by Queen Hel, the Shadow Clan led by Black Dainn, and the Demon Clan led by Ratatosk the Puppeteer, as Hel seeks to [[WellIntentionedExtremist "follow the will of the galaxy"]] and preserve the universe by undeadening all life, Dainn seeks to destroy the world, and Ratatosk seeks to control everything. Dainn has ''zero'' respect for Hel and balks at the idea of her ever becoming the "queen" of the Immortals, while The Count and even some of the undead servants actively rebel against Ratatosk to aid Django purely because his selfish goals go against Hel [[UndyingLoyalty whom they're still loyal to]].
* Twice in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''. [[spoiler:Between the end of patch 2.0 (''A Realm Reborn'') and the middle of 3.0 (''Heavensward''), Emperor Solus of Garlemald passes away, leading to various factions trying to take the throne. Ultimately, Solus' son, Varis took over. Later in patch 5.0, [[BloodKnight Zenos]], Varis' son, [[{{Patricide}} murders Varis]] as he was attempted to release a killer virus and [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou that would spoil Zenos' desire to defeat the Warrior of Light his way]], causing another war to erupt. By the time the Eorean Alliance comes to help Garlemald deal with their Ascian problem, the empire is nothing but a bombed-out shell of their former self, the people either dead, enthralled or running for their lives]].
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' had a literal domino effect of this which ultimately led to The Umbrella Corporation's downfall. Their constant betrayals led to the return of [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil0 former employee James Marcus]] [[spoiler:actually a BOW with his memories]] sabotaging their train and mansion facility. This led to [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil Albert Wesker]] betraying them for "a rival organization" and actively working against them. ''This'' led to Umbrella [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 betraying their head scientist William Birkin]] which caused him to fight back and triggered the contamination and loss of Raccoon City. '''This''' led to Wesker and his new team [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica attacking their Rockfort Island facility]] and subsequently causing an outbreak there which destroyed what few assets they had which basically backed them into a corner. '''''This''''' led to one final last stand where Wesker once again attacked [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles their final facility and what remained of their loyal staff]]. By the time the government got involved against them in any official capacity they were already destitute and, because of the nuking of Raccoon City, [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 their assets were frozen and they went bankrupt]]. While the heroes were instrumental in their downfall, they mostly just ''accidentally'' helped while [[PinballProtagonist running around trying to survive long enough to escape the outbreak they were stuck in]] while the various villains ate themselves alive fighting each other.
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork6CybeastGregarAndCybeastFalzar'', most of the lower members of the latest incarnation of the WWW decide to defect to the WWW's sponsor [[spoiler:Mayor Cain]] and form their own organization with only [[spoiler:Baryl and Mr. Mach]] remaining loyal to [[BigBad Lord Wily]]. After said sponsor is arrested before the endgame, the remaining traitors decide to continue striking it out on their own try and claim one of the Cybeasts, either the one in WWW's custody or the one sealed inside Megaman.
* ''VideoGame/CustomRobo: Battle Revolution'': After the death of the Z Syndicate's founder, Oboro and Eliza, his two closest lieutenants besides [[NumberTwo Sergei]], made individual grabs for power which splintered the syndicate. Both ultimately want to capture [[EldritchAbomination Rahu]] and harness its power ForTheEvulz, but Eliza's faction has the additional goal of [[spoiler:finding and exploiting the memory-erasing device the founder had before passing it off to the protagonist (who was kept in the dark about what it was).]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' during the ''Delicious Last Course DLC'', you have to face the Moonshine Mob who are ''also'' fighting the Ant Cops. However, as the Ant Cops are [[PoliceAreUseless laughably bad at their jobs]], they mostly serve as a hinderance to you: most of their attacks will be more a danger to you than the mob, and while their attacks ''can'' damage the mobsters it only rarely happens and inflicts ScratchDamage at best.

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'' is one big enemy civil war between N. Cortex and N. Brio's forces. Crash is caught in the middle, simultaneously gathering crystals on behalf of Cortex so he can save the world and gathering gems on behalf of Brio to destroy Cortex's space station, with absolutely no clue as to which one of these {{Mad Scientist}}s is actually telling the truth... if either. [[spoiler:In the end it turns out they're both evil, [[ObviouslyEvil big surprise there]], but while Cortex was lying and just wants the crystals for WorldDomination, Brio genuinely does want to destroy Cortex's space station to settle a grudge. [[EnemyMine Crash and Brio end up teaming up]] and destroying Cortex's space station in the GoldenEnding]].
* ''VideoGame/DejaVu1985'': Not in the first game, but the sequel, ''Lost in Las Vegas''. [[spoiler: By leaving one of Stogie Martin's trademark cigar rings in Daniel Ventini's office to suggest he's brought incriminating evidence to Tony Malone, and leaving said evidence (the diary of his racketeer Joey Siegel that features unlisted payments, the note of corrupt officer and money courier [=McMurphy,=] and the letter in posthumous mook Thomas S. Bondwell's luggage that says his payments to the police aren't in the books) in the desk in Malone's office on the secret floor, you can set the two against each other and escape the mob without Stogie icing you! Just be sure to bail before the Strip lights up, and make sure you tip off ''both kingpins'' so the survivor doesn't pick up the trail.]]

* Something more like an enemy ''cold'' war exists between [[BigBad Xykon]] and [[DragonWithAnAgenda Redcloak]] in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. Though Redcloak is largely incapable of betraying Xykon outright [[spoiler:because he feels if he does, the death of his brother will be in vain]] he doesn't particularly ''like'' him either, and will freely use him for his own ends and hide information from him. Recent events suggest this is now mutual, with Xykon no longer trusting Redcloak to hold up his end of the bargain and (possibly) grooming another minion to take his place ([[spoiler: she eventually made a move against Redcloak openly and he killed her almost effortlessly]]). However this winds up playing out, it won't be pretty.

* ''ComicBook/DarthVader'': VillainProtagonist Vader finds himself inadvertently tricked into attacking other Imperial loyalists as part of an insurgency BatmanGambit in ''The Lost Command''.

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': After the Imperium of Man nukes the CIS capital world of Raxus Secundus from orbit (killing both the Separatist Council and Senate), the Separatists split into two warring factions. One faction is led by Dooku and is essentially TheRemnant of the official CIS government. The other is a RenegadeSplinterFaction formed by [[spoiler:General Grievous. Initially, Grievous was on Dooku's side until he discovered that Dooku had tried to erase his memories of his [[TheLostLenore deceased wife]] to brainwash him into being an easier-to-control attack dog for the Sith. After some PercussiveTherapy, Grievous [[TheDogBitesBack decides he's sick of letting the Sith manipulate his life]] and cuts off all communications with Dooku to [[StartMyOwn start his own CIS faction]].]]

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': After the Imperium of Man nukes the CIS capital world of Raxus Secundus from orbit (killing both the Separatist Council and Senate), the Separatists split into two warring factions. One faction is led by Dooku and is basically TheRemnant of the official CIS government. The other is a RenegadeSplinterFaction formed by [[spoiler:General Grievous after he discovered how his memories (specifically those of his [[TheLostLenore deceased wife]]) had been tampered with by Dooku in an attempt to brainwash him into being an easier-to-control attack dog. After some PercussiveTherapy, Grievous [[TheDogBitesBack decides he's sick of letting the Sith manipulate his life]] and cuts off all communications with Dooku to [[StartMyOwn start his own CIS faction]].]]

%%*** ''The Greater Good'': Cain manages to pull this on [[spoiler: the ''Tyranids'']].

* In Creator/RobertEHoward's "Literature/ShadowsInTheMoonlight," Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian lives long enough to be rescued by Olivia because the {{Pirate}}s quarrel.
-->''Such haggling and wrangling I never heard. I'm nearly deaf. Aratus wished to cut out my heart, and Ivanos refused, to spite Aratus, whom he hates. All day long they snarled and spat at one another, and the crew quickly grew too drunk to vote either way-''

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero In Hell]]'', one devil greets another as an old friend --no, as an old adversary since this trope is their normal condition.
* This happens a few times in the Literature/{{Redwall}} series. Notable instances are between [[SmugSnake Emperor Ublaz]] and [[TheStarscream Rasconza]] in ''Pearls of Lutra'' (plus Romsca and Lask Frildur in the same book), and between [[BadBoss Badrang the Tyrant]] and [[AffablyEvil Tramun Clogg]] in ''Martin the Warrior''.

** Among the Lords of the Burning Hells, the four Lesser Evils made a pact to overthrow the three Prime Evils in one civil war, and afterward they started another civil war between themselves to rule. [[spoiler: And then it's revealed in ''Diablo II'' that the Prime Evils masterminded the whole thing in order to get themselves exiled to the human world for invasion and conquest.]]

* It is implied that it is precisely this that maintains the tenuous Balance of Power in the ''Manga/OnePiece'' world. Lack of unity is the only thing that keeps the Yonkou (the four strongest pirates in the ''One Piece'' world) from becoming an even greater threat than they are already. This can also apply to a lesser extent to the other half of the Balance: The Marines and the Shichibukai, and even amongst the Shichibukai ''themselves'', as it's stated at one point the mere idea of a group of Shichibukai fighting as a team was unthinkable.

** Subverted come the Wano Arc. [[spoiler: The World Government and the Marines boot out the Shichibukai once they become a ''major'' liability, and [[VillainTeamUp Big Mom and Kaido team up]] for being former crewmates and having a common enemy in [[MagneticHero Luffy]].]]

* In the Namek arc of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', the fact that Vegeta had turned against Frieza and was (single-handedly) taking down his {{Mooks}} and [[TheDragon Dragons]] one by one was probably the only reason why the Good Guys stayed unnoticed and alive for so long.
** ''Dragon Ball Minus'' reveals there were only several thousand Saiyans on their home planet as they were too warlike to increase their numbers further, explaining why they couldn't overthrow Frieza and conquer the universe themselves.
* Baron Ashura and Count Brocken in ''Anime/MazingerZ''. So, so much. And then you have Archduke Gorgon, who did never miss one chance to show he despised and mocked all of them, [[DragonWithAnAgenda and had his own agenda]]. And Viscount Pygman, who was the only Hell's servant argued with Gorgon and [[spoiler:rebelled against Dr. Hell and became TheStarscream.]]
** Great General of Darkness and Marquiss Janus from ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' were at odds with each other [[spoiler:before the death of the former.]]
** Neither Blackie nor Gandal from ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'' cried when Duke Fleed killed Barados off. Gandal himself/herself is an -amusing- example, since he/sher had split-personality and for a short while was in war with himself/herself.
* The Witches 5 group in the ''Anime/SailorMoon S'' anime. They go as far as [[spoiler:killing two of their members to take leadership: Mimete tampers with Eudial's car and causes her to have a "fatal accident", and later Mimete dies when Tellu plugs off the Witches Electric Warp machine she's using and shuts her off forever.]] In fact, major ''Sailor Moon'' anime villains get rid of each other or themselves ''a lot'' - presumably so that the heroes have less blood on their hands, what with the main villains usually being more [[WhatMeasureIsANonhuman human-like]] than the [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters of the week]]. In the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]], the heroes kill them.
* Played with in ''Anime/FangOfTheSunDougram''. Technically, the rebels are fighting against the whole of Earth Federation, but in reality they're only fighting the Earth region of Medohl (Europe) and its ally Mardo (South America). Representatives of Cohord (Russia), Mingus (North America) and Rodia (Africa), which are opposed to Medohl, gladly provide the rebels with resources, hiding places and training grounds for their fledgling army, gambling that Medohl's representatives won't risk civil war.
* The Zentradi from ''{{Anime/Robotech}}''/''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross''. A race of purely {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s, they sent some infiltrators to spy on the humans of the SDF-1. However, [[HumanityIsInfectious allured by the human concepts of civilian life, peace, love and music]], the infiltrators returned and began spreading these ideas through the Zentradi. Eventually, two factions emerged and began fighting each other. These rebel Zentradi ended up [[HeelFaceTurn defecting to the human side]] against the Zentradi loyalists.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' occasionally pits the Team Rocket trio against other Team Rocket members, particularly [[TheRival Cassidy and Butch]].
** There's also the first movie, in which Mewtwo rebels against his Team Rocket captors.
* Faust orders Code ETD in ''Manga/FairyTail'', which [[spoiler:crystallizes the Exceed forces sent to capture the heroes, then declares war against them all in a bid to steal their magic]].
* In ''Anime/PanzerWorldGalient'', both [[TheDragon Royal Guard Commander Hy Shaltat]] and General Zaba work for Marder, but they don't like each other at all. Hy thinks that Zaba is an idiot and he ignores him completely or hits him if he gets in his way. For his part, Zaba would love an excuse to get Hy executed.
* ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes: Die Neue These'' is unique in that Enemy Civil wars are happening on ''both'' sides at the same time. [[TheEmpire The Galactic Empire]] is riven by conflict between noble royalists and the more populist faction led by [[TheAce Reinhardt]] after TheEmperor dies. Simultaneously, [[TheFederation the Free Planets Alliance]] suffers a DayOfTheJackboot when a MilitaryCoup goes up against the civilian government. This leads to a second season in which the respective fleets end up fighting themselves far more often than each other.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': The League of Villains allies with the Yakuza, who want to return to prominence after decades of being little more than a joke. But eventually it becomes clear that their goals do not align, and they begin working against each other. Several League members who were sent to support the Yakuza secretly help the heroes at a few key moments, bringing about their downfall.
* ''Manga/GushingOverMagicalGirls'': this is how Tres Magia see Enormeeta fighting Lord's Legion; specifically Magenta thinks they should intervene, but Sulfur thinks it would be best to let the two sides fight it out and then crush the winner when they would be at their weakest point.

* ''VideoGame/DejaVu1985'': Not in the first game, but the sequel, ''Lost in Las Vegas''. [[spoiler: By leaving one of Stogie Martin's trademark cigar rings in Daniel Ventini's office to suggest he's brought incriminating evidence to Tony Malone, and leaving said evidence (the diary of his racketeer Joey Siegel that features unlisted payments, the note of corrupt officer and money courier McMurphy, and the letter in posthumous mook Thomas S. Bondwell's luggage that says his payments to the police aren't in the books) in the desk in Malone's office on the secret floor, you can set the two against each other and escape the mob without Stogie icing you! Just be sure to bail before the Strip lights up, and make sure you tip off ''both kingpins'' so the survivor doesn't pick up the trail.]]