A new petition calls for the Iraq War-based FPS Six Days In Fallujah to be banned on the grounds that it will “breed a new generation of mass shooters.”
It also claims it will “[normalize] the killing of Iraqis for the next round,” and “brainwash gamers into thinking RACISM IS OK.”
The petition began to circulate on social media, due in part to heavy endorsement and promotion from members of the mainstream video game industry.
Related: Anita Sarkeesian Targets Six Days In Fallujah, Lies About Publisher Victura
Created on March 24th by Hala Alsalman and addressed to various governmental bodies including the United Nations and US President Joe Biden, the sensationalist and fear mongering petition claims that Six Days In Fallujah not only “promotes the mass murder of Iraqis by American invaders,” but also normalizes the “bombing, shooting, and humiliating the Iraqi people.”
“Victura and Highwire Games just announced the 2021 release a horrific video game called Six Days in Fallujah that promotes the mass murder of Iraqis by American invaders,” reads the petition.
“To add insult to injury, a demo of the game was circulated on the the 18th anniversary of the Iraq War, an illegal invasion and occupation by US forces and their allies. This was an international war crime that included the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the displacement even more.”
The petition further claims that “Bombing, shooting, and humiliating the Iraqi people is being normalized in this sick video game, which will also inevitably breed a new generation of mass shooters in America and brainwash gamers into thinking RACISM IS OK.”
In an attempt to provide proof of the validity of its own existence, the petition then cites a particularly hyperbolic excerpt from an article on the demo of the game written by Ethan Gach for Kotaku, which describes how the demo “ends with the player busting into a room where a family of four hides in the corner hoping to not get murdered.”
Related: Iraq War-Based First-Person Shooter Six Days In Fallujah Revived For 2021 Release
“TOGETHER WE CAN STOP THIS MADNESS. War is not normal. Video games that dehumanize brown people ARE NOT OK,” the petition concludes. “American game developers have been creating sick games like this since the first Gulf War in Iraq in the 90s, normalizing the killing of Iraqis for the next round. THIS HAS TO STOP.”
However, though the petition’s absurd claims and attempts to incite a moral panic have led it to being dismissed by most players and social media users, an astounding number of individuals involved in the mainstream video game industry have taken to wholeheartedly promoting the petition.
Such supporters of the petition include Osama Dorias, a WB Games Montreal Lead Game Designer currently working on Gotham Knights, who asked his followers to “Please take the time to sign this petition to stop the making a game that intends to normalize and trivialize the murder of my fellow Iraqis.”
Keano Raubun, the Game & Narrative Designer for Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers, asserted that “Not all games deserve to be made.”
Chad Armstrong, a Respawn Entertainment designer working on Apex Legends, stated that it was “Frustrating and disappointing that, of all the settings and themes they could have chosen or created, they instead went with ‘War Criminals Have Feelings Too.'”
And prominent voice actress Jennifer Hale, known for her roles in Overwatch (Ashe) and Mass Effect (Female Commander Shepard), who simply wrote in a now-deleted Tweet, “signed.”
As of writing, the petition has currently received 2,940 signatures of its 5,000 signature goal.
What do you make of the petition to ban Six Days In Fallujah? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!