Active Shooter gets deactivated on Steam
The “SWAT simulator” title Action Shooter has been removed from the Steam platform. In addition, both the game developer (Revived Games) and publisher (ACID) have been banned by Valve Corporation from using Steam. The game received a whirlwind of press after the developer decided to add the option of playing as either the shooter or as a civilian attempting to survive a shooting event taking place in a school. Pressure to ban the title was already building before Valve removed the game.
A single individual, Ata Berdyev, has been accused of being the game’s developer and publisher. However, in an interview with PC Mag, Berdyev claimed his involvement merely amounted to allowing Active Shooter’s actual creator to use his US bank accounts for Steam payments. Apparently, 21-year-old Russian citizen Anton Makarevskiy developed the controversial title and only decided to add a school setting because it was easy to buy the 3D model and level design for it.
Regardless of who was actually behind the development and publishing of Active Shooter, it seems the overwhelming tide of negative press and public outcry has motivated officials at Valve to take what they feel was appropriate action in dealing with the situation.