School Shooting Game Removed From Marketplace Following Outrage
(CNET) - A game developer attempted to profit off a game simulating school shootings, but the immediate backlash appears to have curtailed those efforts.
Visible on Valve's wildly popular Steam marketplace Tuesday morning, Active Shooter was slated for release June 6, and appeared to let you play as a SWAT team member or an active shooter in various scenarios. The game included school settings complete with rows of desks, a school gym and hallways lined with lockers.
Not surprisingly given the raw emotions around gun violence and heated national debate over gun control, the game sparked an uproar, with a Change.org petition quickly approaching its target of 150,000 signatures. At the time of this writing, it has passed 140,000 signatures with more people signing every second.
Ryan Petty, one of the parents who lost a child during the Feb. 14 Parkland shooting took to Facebook to let Valve know the game was not acceptable. Seventeen people lost their lives in the Florida tragedy, with another 17 wounded.
A subsequent search on Steam revealed the title no longer exists. Valve did provide a comment to Deadline, in which it confirmed the game has been pulled from the marketplace, and provided more background on the individual behind Active Shooter.
