Activision apologizes and removes ‘insensitive’ Quran pages from Call of Duty: Vanguard

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Activision has issued an apology after ‘insensitive’ uses of the Muslim holy text, the Quran, were included on the floor of a Call of Duty Vanguard Zombies map. The images have now been removed from the game.

Following the release of Call of Duty: Vanguard, several players noted that the game contained multiple pages of the Quran scattered on the floor of a Zombies map. The pages of the sacred text were laid out in a way that allowed players to step on them while participating in shootouts. Placing a copy of the Quran on the ground is considered disrespectful, and the scattered pages sparked an outcry, with some even calling for a boycott of the game.

As noted in a tweet from CharlieIntel (below), the publisher has since apologized for including the content on the map and has said that it will seek to address the issue with those responsible to prevent similar situations from happening in the future. “Call of Duty is made for everyone,” says Activision in its statement.

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“There was insensitive content for the Muslim community that was mistakenly included last week, and has since been removed from the game. It should never have appeared as it did in the game. We deeply apologize. We are taking immediate internal steps to address the situation to prevent this type of event in the future. “

Since the material was discovered, several players have spoken out on social media in support of the Muslim community on the issue. Following Activision’s statement, game developer Rami Ismail gave his opinion on the matter. “It is good to see an apology for the absolutely unnecessary and unnecessary inclusion of Quran texts that people may overlook,” the developer said in a tweet.

This isn’t the first time in recent years that the franchise has been challenged for cultural insensitivity. In 2019, the BBC reported that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare had seen a wave of negative reviews on Metacritic where users claimed that the game was trying to rewrite history and promote anti-Russian propaganda. At the time, Activision stated that the game it did not represent real world events.

For more information on Call of Duty: Vanguard, be sure to check out our in-game campaign review, where we gave it a 7/10.

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Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow it on Twitter.




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