Documents detail Remington deal to get rifle in ‘Call of Duty’ video game

A top U.S. gun-maker is targeted a younger generation of gun enthusiasts in a previously undisclosed deal to get one of its rifles in a popular video game. Newly released documents reveal the details of the deal between the popular first-person shooter game “Call of Duty” and Remington Arms to include one of its assault rifles in the game.

The Wall Street Journal reported that court documents from a lawsuit filed by Sandy Hook victims’ parents against the AR-15 manufacturer detail an agreement between the gun-maker and Activision Blizzard, the parent company of “Call of Duty.”

The court documents are now being released following a settlement in which Remington Arms agreed to pay families of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre $73 million.

The documents, which include internal emails and records between the year 2000 and the early 2010s, show a marketing strategy by the gun-maker to target a younger generation of gun enthusiasts to boost sales by partnering with Activision Blizzard to get one of its combat rifles into “Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.”

“Call of Duty” is one of the world’s most successful video game franchises, with annual sequels and millions of players worldwide. The game openly relies on its relationships with the U.S. military and gun manufacturers to make it as authentic as possible.

The newly released documents give a rare look at the details of such relationships. After getting its Adaptive Combat Rifle, ACR, into the 2009 “Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2,” the documents revealed Remington sold 22 million units. However, according to the Journal, that success was short-lived as sales stalled, and Remington discontinued the rifle, citing a design flaw. According to the Journal’s reporting, no money was exchanged in the deal between the two parties.

Still, among “Call of Duty” players, the ACR is remembered as one of the most popular weapons in the game and is expected to return in the soon-to-be-released “Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.”

The deal’s revelation is also the latest happening in the long-standing debate about video games promoting violence among youth. In 2019, following the two mass shootings in the U.S., then President Donald Trump called out the makers of violent games.

“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society.” Trump said. “This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence.”

While Remington and other gun makers like Colt and Barrett have worked with “Call of Duty” to get their weapons included in its games, following the Sandy Hook massacre, National Rifle Association Vice President Wayne LaPierre blamed, in part, violent video games and movies for mass shootings and gun violence in America.

“There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt, and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people through vicious, violent video games with names like ‘Bulletstorm,’ ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Splatterhouse,’ LaPierre said.