US military bans Medal of Honor

Though Medal of Honor appears to have successfully ridden the turbulent waters of controversy in the UK, the game has suffered one retail ban in America.

The US military has requested that retailer Gamestop not stock the title in any of its 49 stores located in US army and air force bases. The demand comes thanks to the inclusion of playable Taliban forces in the game.

GameStop has agreed out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform we will not carry Medal of Honor in any of our AAFES based stores,” an internal email obtained by Kotaku reads.

As such, GameStop agreed to have all marketing material pulled by noon today and to stop taking reservations. Customers who enter our AAFES stores and wish to reserve Medal of Honor can and should be directed to the nearest GameStop location off base.

GameStop fully supports AAFES in this endeavour and is sensitive to the fact that in multiplayer mode one side will assume the role of Taliban fighter.”

The furore surrounding EA’s shooter reached a high point last month when Conservative defence secretary Liam Fox asked retailers to show their support for the armed forces” by refusing to stop the game. However, there’s little sign that retail intends to sanction action, deferring instead to approved regulator PEGI.