Taliban Pulled From Medal of Honor Game

The publisher of an upcoming shoot-em-up multiplayer computer game set in Afghanistan will drop the Taliban and rename the forces fighting American troops as the "opposing force."

Electronic Arts and developer Danger Close have come under criticism for being insensitive to families of soldiers serving in Afghanistan (Check out this interview with a mother whose son died fighting the Taliban.) The United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Defence also urged a ban of the game, which he described as tasteless."

But in a post today, Greg Goodrich, the executive producer of Medal of Honor, wrote that the company had decided to make a name change in response to feedback expressing concern over the inclusion of the Taliban in the game.

"This is a very important voice to the Medal of Honor team. This is a voice that has earned the right to be listened to. It is a voice that we care deeply about," he wrote. "Because of this, and because the heartbeat of Medal of Honor has always resided in the reverence for American and Allied soldiers, we have decided to rename the opposing team in Medal of Honor multiplayer from Taliban to Opposing Force.

Goodrich added that the change would not fundamentally alter the gameplay. "We are making this change for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice - this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and service," he wrote.

The statement backs away from the company's previous position when EA spokesman Jeff Brown said the game was "built on the same dynamic that ruled the cops-and-robbers game we played in our parents' backyard. Someone is the good guy. Someone is the bad guy. When the robbers won, it didn't mean those kids wanted to kill the police."

But in an interview today with the gaming site Kotaku, Brown suggested that the cosmetic name change wouldn't fool anyone.

"The game takes place in Afghanistan. It's pretty clear who is fighting who," he said.

Medal of Honor is set for release Oct. 12.