Los Angeles-based video game studio Robotoki received a surprise visit by the LAPD because of a âCall of Dutyâ promotion they put up: a life-size statue of âModern Warfareâsâ âGhost,â armed to the teeth in SAS style.
An unnamed designer noticed the statue, took it for a real gunman and set off an alarm notifying the police, according to a report by Polygon.
âOur studio is equipped with a âpanicâ alarm in case of an armed threat, which was installed yesterday,â said studio founder Robert Bowling. âOne of our designers, who shall not be shamed, pressed it on his way out because apparently when boys find buttons that they are unsure of, their first instinct is to push it.â
By the time the LAPD arrived, Bowling was alone at the office.
âAfter pushing it, everyone went home for the day, leaving their lonely studio head to receive the assault of their actions,â he added.
The LAPD wonât be filing charges against the Robotoki developer, as it was an accident and not a prank, âswattingâ â âwhereby a prankster anonymously contacts emergency services fabricating an armed threat at a premises to invoke a law enforcement response, which usually comes in the form of a police SWAT team that is obligated to treat all such tips seriously,â explains AusGamers.
Once the officers saw the statue, they entered and cleared the studio, securing the office. The officers were not fooled by âGhost,â but they were not going to leave the building unsecured.
âThe dummy never entered into it,â said LAPD spokesman Detective Gus Villanueva to NBC Los Angeles. âThey realized it wasnât alive, it wasnât a person. In my 35 years on the job, if we search a warehouse or business for a burglar, we always go in with our guns drawn.â
âI was in my office when they arrived and saw them coming up our stairs, guns drawn,â Bowling said. âThey yelled for me to put my hands up and walk towards them slowly, then took me into custody and out of the studio until they cleared the rest of the rooms and floors.â
After the office was cleared the officers sat down to talk shop: video games.
Bowling had the security system put into place âas game developers receive their fair share of death threats,â something that Bowling experienced at âCall of Dutyâ development studio Infinity Ward. Infinity Ward was the original developer of the âModern Warfareâ series.
Infinity Ward is preparing another addition to the âCall of Dutyâ catalog this November with âGhosts,â the tenth title in the series. The game will launch on all major systems including the upcoming Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
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