Electronic Arts has recently announced that they were removing the name “Taliban” from the multiplayer portion of their upcoming first-person shooter war game, Medal of Honor.

This move comes after critics blasted the game for allowing players to participate in the game’s multiplayer mode as Taliban insurgents. They will now be known as “Opposing Force.”

The choice was made due to the “feedback from friends and families of fallen soldiers,” the publisher received when the elements of the multiplayer mode were announced.

Executive Producer for Medal of Honor, Greg Goodrich, explained the sudden change in a blog post on the game’s official website. In it, he described the friends and families of fallen soldiers as “a very important voice to the Medal of Honor team.” He adds, “This is a voice that has earned the right to be listened to.”

Also noted, is that the change will not affect gameplay. Aside from a name change for the characters, the game will remain exactly the same.

He goes on to say to the men and women serving in the military that, “this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and your service.”

While I can’t speak from the point of view of someone who has lost a loved one who is serving in the military (and for that, I am thankful) I can see how this may disturb someone who has had to receive the news that their son, daughter, mother or father was killed while serving.

What disturbed those people in this particular situation was that players can play as the Taliban with the goal of gunning down the American soldiers. While it probably wasn’t meant to offend, it certainly carries heavy weight right now while the US fights real war that continues to this day, and that part isn’t a game.

On a less serious note, I don’t play many first-person shooters. Most seem kind of the same to me. They could have called them flying spaghetti monster forces and it wouldn’t affect me much. But I get it, this is about free speech. That’s a story for another day.

After all that serious stuff, why not have a look at My Little Kratos or kick back and watch 10 minutes of actual gameplay from BioShock Infinite.

Via: Medal of Honor Official Website (Age-Gated)