Activision denies Modern Warfare 2 is banned in Russia

Posted by Daniel Bennett on Tue 17 Nov 2009

Activision removed controversial scenes before release in Russia

Modern Warfare 2 is on sale in Russia according to the game’s publisher Activision, despite widespread reports stating otherwise.

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The now infamous “No Russian” level, which sees the player gun down unarmed civilians at an airport to infiltrate a group of Russian terrorists, was said to have incurred the wrath of the Russian government, leading to its ban. However, Activision made a statement saying that the PC version of the game is on sale in Russia and that these reports are “erroneous”.

The Russian version of the game doesn’t actually include the controversial scenes which UK gamers are able to skip. Alhough, speaking to Eurogamer, Activision pointed out that this decision was their own:

"Other countries have formal ratings boards that we regularly work with. However, Russia does not have a formal ratings entity. As a result, we chose to block the scene after seeking the advice of local counsel.”

None of this will have done the games sales any harm. At last count Modern Warfare 2 had grossed £67.4 million in the UK alone.

Link: Call of Duty (via MCV)