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Activision Edits Modern Warfare 2 For Russia

A controversial scene in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that sees a Russian terror cell shooting up an airport full of civilians has been removed in the Russian version of the game, according to Activision.

Leigh Alexander, Contributor

November 17, 2009

1 Min Read
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A controversial scene in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that sees a Russian terror cell shooting up an airport full of civilians has been removed in the Russian version of the game. Activision confirmed the move to Eurogamer, after numerous erroneous reports about Modern Warfare 2 receiving a "ban" or a government-enforced recall in Russia began to surface. This new information from Activision suggests that the publisher itself elected to remove the "No Russian" mission, and may have recalled copies of the game from retail shelves in order to undertake the edits. In the country, the game is only available on PC. "Other countries have formal ratings boards that we regularly work with," the publisher told Eurogamer. "However, Russia does not have a formal ratings entity. As a result, we chose to block the scene after seeking the advice of local counsel." As Russians are one of the primary adversaries in Modern Warfare 2's military landscape, some could interpret an unflattering portrayal of the nation, particularly as specific, individual enemies use terrorist tactics in the story.

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About the Author

Leigh Alexander

Contributor

Leigh Alexander is Editor At Large for Gamasutra and the site's former News Director. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Slate, Paste, Kill Screen, GamePro and numerous other publications. She also blogs regularly about gaming and internet culture at her Sexy Videogameland site. [NOTE: Edited 10/02/2014, this feature-linked bio was outdated.]

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