Bowing to pressure from consumers, the military and retailers, 
Electronic Arts has made a last minute change to its upcoming “Medal of Honor” video game and will no longer allow players to play as the Taliban in the game’s multiplayer mode.
Citing feedback from friends and family of fallen soldiers, the company on Friday announced in a blog post that the enemy in the multiplayer component of the game would be renamed “Opposing Force” to mute the controversy.
[In this Gamasutra editorial, editor-at-large and veteran game journalist Chris Morris looks at the escalating war of words between Electronic Arts and Activision – and the detrimental effects the dustup can have on the video game industry.]
There’s a reason politicians are so despised in this country. One party spends so much time squabbling over disagreements with the other party that everyone’s focus on their main job – ensuring the smooth running of the country – falls by the wayside.
It’s only fitting, then, that as the midterm elections near, the two biggest parties in the video game industry have decided to express their mutual loathing towards each other.
“Medal of Honor,” the revival of one of Electronic 
Arts biggest franchises, has been taking a lot of fire lately. But now the publisher is ready to go on the offensive.
For the past month, several parties have targeted the title after it was disclosed that gamers could play as the Taliban in the game’s multiplayer mode.
Electronic Arts is counting heavily on its Medal of Honor
franchise to help boost revenue in the holiday quarter, but as the title gets closer to launch, it’s finding itself in the crosshairs of game industry critics.
Set in modern-day Afghanistan, the latest version of the franchise casts players as a Tier 1 Operator, a relatively unknown branch of the Special Forces, fighting the War on Terror. Developers say they are striving to present the conflict in an authentic manner, with respect for the soldiers. But the disclosure that gamers could play as the Taliban in the game’s multiplayer mode has raised a few eyebrows.
Chris Morris: Journalist 