A new report revealed that Activision signed a secret deal with gun manufacturer Remington back in the 2000s to get real gun names included in Call of Duty. These documents were disclosed as a result of lawsuit proceedings regarding the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.
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According to Wall Street Journal, the push for real guns to be included in video games was initiated by Freedom Group. The Freedom Group, also known as Remington Outdoor Company prior to going bankrupt in 2020, was a firearms conglomerate that held several weapon manufacturers under its umbrella. Freedom Group believed that marketing to young men through video games would boost their sales in real life. To accomplish this, they signed a deal in 2009 with Activision Blizzard to add the ACR to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
It really is irony [sic] that video games that just a decade ago were considered the number one threat to gaining new shooters is perhaps now the number one draw. — John C. Trull, former VP of Product Management for Firearms at Remington
The deal reportedly didn’t involve any money exchanges. Activision agreed to put the gun in the game and both parties agreed to keep the deal confidential. While the ACR was widely popular in the game, however, it apparently didn’t help to generate any sales for its real-world counterpart. Despite its digital popularity, the actual gun was infamous for its issues and recalls. John C. Trull had this to say about the gun in an interview:
The fact that the rifle was so popular in Call of Duty was shocking and…it was essentially the only positive thing anyone had to say about the ACR. The product was eventually discontinued after years of low sales volume.
While real-world guns were popular in Call of Duty back in the late 2000s, their names have disappeared entirely from the popular shooter franchise in recent years. In case you missed why, it’s because Electronic Arts announced back in 2013 that they were no longer going to license the rights to real-world weaponry. This was in response to intense backlash following the Sandy Hook shootings.
Guns in modern-day Call of Duty games are still modeled after real-world firearms. In fact, the ACR is even making a return in next month’s Modern Warfare 3 in everything but name. Whether or not the company ever returns to giving guns their official names remains to be seen.
In other Call of Duty news, Modern Warfare 3’s dedicated server locations were just revealed. You can see where they’re hosted here.
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Source: WSJ
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I can see marketing through video games within reason, and boost their sales. Having real world weapons or even a resemblance of real world weapons will get negative feedback, it’s probably for the best that Electronic Arts that they would no longer license the rights to real world weapons.
I wish they’d go back to this and use real names and make them look like real guns. I miss this.