Valve Removes Video Game ‘Active Shooter’ Owing to Option to Play School Shooter

It was perhaps inevitable considering its content, but the game “Active Shooter” has been pulled out of Steam by Valve and can no longer be played using the platform. The title basically allows players to take on the role of either a member of a SWAT team or a school shooter. The latter case struck a nerve among victims of school shootings, particularly because the game encourages players to kill as many people as possible.

As a result of the insensitive theme of the game, “Active Shooter” attracted a considerable amount of vitriol among those who are fighting to end school shootings in the U.S. It would also seem that the developer of the game is something of a troll and has been banned from Steam before, The Guardian reports.

In a statement to the publication, Valve confirmed that it was their decision to pull the game from Steam, along with its developer. The company also revealed that the developer had previously been banned from the platform under a different name.

“We have removed the developer Revived Games and publisher ACID from Steam. This developer and publisher is, in fact, a person calling himself Ata Berdiyev, who had previously been removed last fall when he was operating as ‘[bc]Interactive’ and ‘Elusive Team’,” Valve said.

One of the reasons why the developer was banned from Steam before was his tendency to make bold copyright violations, particularly with one app called “Piccled Ricc,” which is as blatant as a copycat move can get, Engadget reports. Suffice it to say, it seems this developer has a record of trying to push the limits of tolerance, and this time, he has gone too far.

"[Developer] Ata is a troll, with a history of customer abuse, publishing copyrighted material and user review manipulation," Valve said of the developer’s character.