How one gun company partnered with Call of Duty to attract 'young potential shooters'

pcgamer.com:

It is common knowledge that arms manufacturers and the videogames industry have partnerships and sponsorship deals, with series like Call of Duty sometimes even including gunmakers like Colt in their credits. But we almost never get a glimpse at what these deals involve, both in terms of the finances and the thinking behind marketing real weapons in virtual worlds.

Internal emails and company records from Remington Arms, a subsidiary of arms manufacturer The Freedom Group, have been disclosed by a US lawyer following proceedings against the group. They were obtained as part of a lawsuit filed by parents of children killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in which the killer used a Remington AR15 rifle, and were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit in question was settled last year for $73 million.

The documents are from the late 2000s and early 2010s, and this tranche relate specifically to 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. They include the Freedom Group's «Gaming Strategy» memo (undated), which says that «with increasing urbanization and access to shooting/hunting areas in decline, a primary means for young potential shooters to come into contact with firearms and ammunition is through virtual gaming scenarios».

The same document says executives believe the inclusion of their firearms in games like COD would «help create brand preference among the next generation» and see the company «win our fair-share of these young consumers».

The memo does expressly forbid the use of the company's guns in games where players could shoot «non-military bad guys» (which makes Modern Warfare 2 an odd choice: this is the game with the No Russian mission), but with cynical disregard says in