Parents of Parkland Students Decry Video Game That Encourages School Shootings

Video games have made for a controversial topic for a long time, largely because of the many diverse themes they cover. From educational sprite titles in the '80s to the blood and gore that gained popularity in the '90s, video games have been a target for different reactions. In one case, however, the outrage might be justified since it seems to encourage school shootings. Parents of students at Parkland High School agree.

The new video game in question is called "Active Shooter" and it allows players to play the role of a school shooter. Points are awarded per kill, which means that the players are encouraged to kill as many virtual characters in the game as possible, Newsweek notes. The game has yet to be released but it has already attracted the ire of the parents of students attending the Florida school due to the context of the game.

Considering the rising number of school shootings of late, releasing a game that puts the subject in such a major spotlight has been considered severely insensitive. While the title also gives players the option to become members of the SWAT team that has been dispatched to take care of the killer, the subject is still one of grim fascination to some and of complete disgust to many.

Several of the parents whose children were killed during the Parkland high school shooting incident have called for the game to be pulled from Steam, where it’s scheduled for release on June 6. A Change.org petition was even launched in order to have the title removed from the platform, which has almost reached its target of 25,000 signatures as of this writing.

So far, Valve, the company behind Steam, has not released any comment with regards to this particular issue. However, it has been known to side with victims and listen to complaints with regards to sensitive issues in the past.