HOUSTON – A new video game is drawing backlash from parents and people across social media.
The game puts the player in the firsthand perspective of an active shooter scenario.
While it’s not the first time we’ve seen games with gun violence, but with recent events like the Santa Fe shooting, folks are saying the developers of this active shooter game are taking it too far.
In fact, there’s now an online petition to stop the game from going on sale next week. It’s already got more than 17,000 signatures.
The game called “Active Shooter,” and that's exactly what it simulates. The game was meant to be played as a SWAT team member during a school shooting, but the developer added the option to play as the shooter.
"We've crossed that line and it's time to walk backwards a little bit. I mean definitely don't let your children play this game," Dan Thompson and Luke Wood, tech and gaming experts, said.
Thompson and Wood agree that the game isn't suitable for children, and so does child psychologist Amanda Gilliam.
"While the research isn't there supporting it being directly connected to school violence there is evidence showing that it does affect our view of the world."
Gilliam says parents should be weary of their children playing any active shooter games, even if the research doesn't directly tie them to violence.
"With any game question what is this adding to my child's life, how is this benefiting them in some way, and I struggle to identify any way that this active shooter game could be beneficial to a child," Gilliam said.
And it’s not the first time the developers of this game have made games with attention grabbing titles.
They even have a game called “Tyde Pod Challenge.”
So all these games are on this independent site called Steam, and there’s not much regulation surrounding it.
So unless the developers take the game down, experts say it’s really up to parents to keep it out to the hands of their kids.