Activision apologies for disrespectful use of Quran in Call of Duty: Vanguard
Pages of Islam's sacred text were rendered on the floor of a Zombies map
Following backlash from the Muslim community, Activision Blizzard has apologised for its depiction of the Quran in the latest Call of Duty.
News spread via social media that pages of the holy book could be found on the floor of a map in the popular Zombies mode. Placing the Quran on the floor or where people can walk on it is considered to be disrespectful.
Some of the pages displayed the phrase "in the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" while others were stained by blood.
This inclusion sparked complaints from many members of the Muslim community, including indie developer Rami Ismail, who tweeted: "Could we please just not put text from the Quran on the ground or on places... where people can walk on it.
"Even if you think religion is nonsense, there's just no reason to be disrespectful towards two billion people's culture and beliefs in a video game for a throwaway asset."
A statement was posted to the Call of Duty Middle East Twitter account, and Activision Blizzard has sent the English translation to GamesIndustry.biz.
"Call of Duty is made for everyone," the statement read. "There was insensitive content to the Muslim community mistakenly included last week, and has since been removed from the game. It should never have appeared as it did in game. We deeply apologize.
"We are taking immediate steps internally to address the situation to prevent such occurrences in the future."