Active Shooter

{{Infobox video game

| title = Active Shooter

| image = Active_Shooter.png

| developer = Revived Games

| publisher = Acid Publishing Group

| designer = Anton Makarevskiy

| engine = Unity

| platforms = Microsoft Windows

| released = 2018

| genre = First-person shooter

| modes = Single-player, multiplayer

}}

Active Shooter is a first-person shooter video game developed by Russian video game developer Anton Makarevskiy{{Cite news|url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/361461/creator-of-active-shooter-speaks-out-im-no-psychopath|title=Creator of 'Active Shooter' Speaks Out: I'm No Psychopath|work=PCMAG|access-date=2018-06-19|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619141034/https://www.pcmag.com/news/361461/creator-of-active-shooter-speaks-out-im-no-psychopath|archive-date=2018-06-19|url-status=live}} and publisher Ata Berdyev, working under the names Revived Games and Acid Publishing Group.{{Cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2018/06/13/active-shooter-game-developer-vows-to-continue-selling-online/|title='Active Shooter' game developer vows to continue selling online|date=2018-06-13|work=NY Post|access-date=2018-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614171950/https://nypost.com/2018/06/13/active-shooter-game-developer-vows-to-continue-selling-online/|archive-date=2018-06-14|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/active-shooter-removed-from-steam-by-valve/|title=Valve Has Removed a School Shooting Simulator From Steam, Calling the Developer a 'Troll'|date=2018-05-29|website=Motherboard|access-date=2018-05-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530035635/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evkp3a/active-shooter-removed-from-steam-by-valve|archive-date=2018-05-30|url-status=live}} It was first scheduled for release on June 6, 2018 through the Steam distribution platform.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/us/parkland-shooter-video-game.html|title=Active Shooter Game Angers Parkland Parents: 'This Is Gross, This Is Profiteering'|date=2018-05-29|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-30|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530033152/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/us/parkland-shooter-video-game.html|archive-date=2018-05-30|url-status=live}} After Valve removed the publisher from the platform, the developer released the game independently as an early access title.

Gameplay

The game depicts a school shooting, and allows players to take the role of either the active shooter (referred as the "attacker" on the title screen), a SWAT member responding to the event, or a civilian who can choose to flee the shooting or fight the shooter.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/active-shooter-and-its-developer-have-been-removed-from-steam/|title=Active Shooter and its developer have been removed from Steam|work=PC Gamer|access-date=2018-05-30|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529234600/https://www.pcgamer.com/active-shooter-and-its-developer-have-been-removed-from-steam/|archive-date=2018-05-29|url-status=live}} In the attacker role, the players can choose to attack with guns, grenades, or knives, and the number of civilian, guard, and police deaths are tallied on screen.{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/5/29/17405716/active-shooter-steam-valve-corp-video-game|title=A new video game simulated school shootings. After outcry, it got taken down.|work=Vox|access-date=2018-05-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531185126/https://www.vox.com/2018/5/29/17405716/active-shooter-steam-valve-corp-video-game|archive-date=2018-05-31|url-status=live}}

Controversy

Active Shooter attracted controversy after its Steam store page was published in May 2018,{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44230875|title=Steam store school-shooting game 'appalling'|date=2018-05-23|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-05-30|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527151500/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44230875|archive-date=2018-05-27|url-status=live}} with parents of Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victims campaigning against the game online.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/05/29/what-parkland-parents-think-of-a-new-video-game-that-lets-people-shoot-up-a-school/|title='Active Shooter' video game let players shoot up a school. Parkland parents were horrified.|last=Horton|first=Alex|date=2018-05-29|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-05-30|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530012125/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/05/29/what-parkland-parents-think-of-a-new-video-game-that-lets-people-shoot-up-a-school/|archive-date=2018-05-30|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article212025899.html|title='It's a disgrace': Parkland parents condemn video game that simulates school shootings|work=miamiherald|access-date=2018-05-30|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530034954/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article212025899.html|archive-date=2018-05-30|url-status=live}} An online petition had attracted 100,000 signatures by the time of the game's cancellation.

On May 29, it emerged that Revived Games and Acid Publishing Group were the trading names of Anton Makarevskiy and Ata Berdyev, the latter of which had previously been removed from Steam by Valve for copyright infringement after the publication of a Rick and Morty parody called Piccled Ricc.{{Cite news|url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/3/16600350/rick-and-morty-piccled-ricc-steam-valve-pewdiepie-jim-sterling|title=Fan-made Rick and Morty game, Piccled Ricc, removed from Steam|work=Polygon|access-date=2018-05-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143241/https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/3/16600350/rick-and-morty-piccled-ricc-steam-valve-pewdiepie-jim-sterling|archive-date=2018-06-12|url-status=live}} The company later announced that Revived Games and Acid Publishing Group would be removed from the Steam platform. A spokesperson told Matthew Gault of Motherboard that Berdyev is "a troll, with a history of customer abuse, publishing copyrighted material, and user review manipulation". In a subsequent blog post, Acid Software argued that Steam had carried other video games with a focus on violence and murder, giving examples of Hatred, Postal, and Carmageddon.

Following the media reaction to the game, Valve suggested a broader review of its content policies would take place "soon". Valve issued this updated policy on June 6, 2018, which stated that they would allow any content on Steam as long as it was not illegal, or if the content was "trolling".{{cite web | url = https://steamed.kotaku.com/valve-says-it-will-now-allow-everything-on-steam-unles-1826612274 | title = Valve Says It Will Now Allow 'Everything' On Steam, Unless It's Illegal Or 'Straight Up Trolling' | first = Nathan | last = Grayson | date = June 6, 2018 | access-date = June 6, 2018 | work = Kotaku | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180606200437/https://steamed.kotaku.com/valve-says-it-will-now-allow-everything-on-steam-unles-1826612274 | archive-date = 2018-06-06 | url-status = live }} Valve's Doug Lombardi used Active Shooter as an example of such trolling, in that the game was "designed to do nothing but generate outrage and cause conflict through its existence", and even if another developer, without the history of abusing Steam as they found with Berdyev, had released the same title, they still would have removed it for its trolling nature.{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/07/valves-would-still-block-active-shooter/ | title = Valve's confusing Steam policy is about Flappy Bird, not bigotry | first = Jeff | last = Grubb | date = June 7, 2018 | access-date = June 7, 2018 | work = Venture Beat | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180607234016/https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/07/valves-would-still-block-active-shooter/ | archive-date = 2018-06-07 | url-status = live }}

Later in June 2018, PayPal closed the account of Acid Software, citing that the game violated their Acceptable Use Policy.{{cite web | url = https://apnews.com/8368dd3089684046ad4e68330cd1c7fd | title = PayPal move blocks sales of school shooting video game | first = Dave | last = Collins | date = June 20, 2018 | access-date = June 21, 2018 | publisher = Associated Press | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180621194018/https://apnews.com/8368dd3089684046ad4e68330cd1c7fd | archive-date = 2018-06-21 | url-status = live }} Indiegogo also dropped the title from their service near the same time.{{cite web | url = https://www.pcgamesn.com/active-shooter/active-shooter-paypal | title = Active Shooter has been banned from PayPal | first = Ali | last = Jones | date = June 21, 2018 | access-date = June 21, 2018 | work = PCGamesN | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180621143244/https://www.pcgamesn.com/active-shooter/active-shooter-paypal | archive-date = 2018-06-21 | url-status = live }} The developers' websites for the game were shut down by Bluehost following a Sandy Hook Promise petition.{{Cite news|url=http://www.kalb.com/content/news/School-shooting-video-game-Active-Shooter-websites-back-online-485441501.html|title=School shooting video game 'Active Shooter' websites back online|last=KALB|access-date=2018-06-19|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614171908/http://www.kalb.com/content/news/School-shooting-video-game-Active-Shooter-websites-back-online-485441501.html|archive-date=2018-06-14|url-status=live}}