Call of Duty named in school shooter trial

On the second anniversary of the Uvalde school shooting, two lawsuits have come to light, filed on behalf of the victims' families against a gun manufacturer – and Activision Blizzard. The families are represented by Josh Koskoff, who has publicly stated, “There is a direct connection between the behavior of these companies and the Uvalde shooting.”

Meta was also named in one of the lawsuits, but the bulk of the litigation targets Activision Blizzard as publisher of Call of Duty and Daniel Defense, maker of the weapon used in the school shooting that left 22 dead and another 21 injured.

“Knowingly exposed”

At the heart of these lawsuits, revealed on May 24, is the claim that Activision and Meta joined forces with the gun manufacturing industry to “reach” young and impressionable people. This is the damning assertion made by Koskoff in a statement:

The truth is that the gun industry and Daniel Defense did not act alone. They couldn't have reached this child without Instagram. They couldn't expose him to the dopamine loop of virtually killing a person. That's what Call of Duty does.

(Meta and Activision Blizzard) knowingly exposed the shooter to the weapon, conditioned him to view it as the solution to his problems, and trained him to use it.

This isn't the first time Call of Duty has been touted as the root cause or culprit of a tragic school shooting. In 2012, the Sandy Hook shooter – who also targeted an elementary school – was accused of being obsessed with video games, including Call of Duty. A few years ago, Josh Koskoff led a successful legal campaign against Remington, the manufacturer of the gun used in that filming.

Activision Blizzard issued an immediate response to the lawsuits, emphasizing that they were sympathetic to the “horrific and heartbreaking” events that took place in Uvalde in 2022, but that “millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrible acts.”

This has long been the argument in favor of violent video games. When Donald Trump took to the podium in 2019 to “take a strong stand” against violent games like Call of Duty, communities around the world were quick to point out that there were two billion gamers, many of whom play violent games, and research indicates that games are not inciting them to go on a vicious rampage armed with assault rifles.

If the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard is successful, claims that these games “knowingly promote dangerous weapons to millions of vulnerable young people” could have dramatic ramifications against the industry. From Fortnite to Grand Theft Auto, Rainbow Six to Battlefield, real-world weapons are replicated in thousands of video games.

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