Activision has finally responded to the aggrieved lawsuits from the families of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting incident back in 2022. In their latest statement to the US courts, the Call of Duty publisher defended its own game franchise, stating that its form of creative expression cannot be blamed for the school shooting incident even if the killer was an avid Call of Duty gamer.
Activision submitted its defense as early as December 23, 2024. Moreover, while the company urges courts to dismiss the Uvalde school shooting lawsuits, it also extends a dialog of empathy to the victims’ families.
“Plaintiffs have suffered terrible losses at the hands of a mass murderer, Salvador Ramos, who terrorized and stole the lives of children and teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. The Activision Defendants deeply sympathize with the families and communities impacted by this senseless violence.
While the Activision Defendants understand Plaintiffs’ desire to find justice, this action mistakenly seeks to pin the blame for the perpetrator’s crime on Activision’s military-combat video game, Call of Duty. The law cannot be stretched to make Activision’s creative expression legally liable for the perpetrator’s criminal conduct,” as reported by Game File’s Stephen Totilo.
Families of the victims of the aforementioned Uvalde school shootings have notably held Activision’s Call of Duty games as partially responsible for the killer’s actions. The victims’ families even claimed that the killer made a video inspired by a Call of Duty level prior to committing the act in Uvalde.
Activision then denies all claims and accusations, including the part where the Uvalde killer supposedly picked the very same assault rifle featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s title screen.
Such defense from Activision has likely reignited gun ownership and accessibility debates in the US. Some have argued that the US would rather blame Activision and video games rather than gun ownership lobbyists and distributors.
Others have come to Activision’s defense, stating that the lawsuit is another “video games cause violence” sentiment, something that has apparently been disproven through studies.
Activision further argues that millions of people have played video games– specifically their Call of Duty games without turning to horrific acts and violence. At the moment, the Uvalde families involved in the school shooting lawsuits against Activision have until February 2024 to respond to Activision’s defense.
