By Jon Gambrell
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) --The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.
Kuwait has not publicly acknowledged banning the game, which is a tentpole product for the Microsoft-owned developer Activision and is set to be released on Friday worldwide. However, it comes as Kuwait still wrestles with the aftermath of the invasion and as video game makers more broadly deal with addressing historical and cultural issues in their work.
The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.
There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.
Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.
“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”
Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.
“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.
But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.
Coke’s quarterly revenue and volumes fall but still beat expectations
Coca-Cola Co. said Wednesday its third-quarter revenue fell as sales volumes flattened or declined around the world.
But the company still beat Wall Street's forecasts and said it expects full-year organic revenue to rise 10%, which is at the high end of its previous guidance.
The Atlanta beverage giant said its revenue fell 1% to $11.9 billion. That beat Wall Street's forecast of $11.6 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Coke hiked prices 10% in the July-September period. The company said that was partly due to hyperinflation in markets like Argentina. Coke has raised prices every quarter since the end of 2020.
But those higher prices are hurting demand. Coke said its unit case volumes fell 1% for the quarter. Demand for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was up 11% but sales of juice, dairy, water, sports drinks and coffee were down.
"There's clearly parts of the consumer landscape where there's pressure on disposable income," Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey said during a conference call with investors.
Quincey said Coke is focused on making drinks more affordable by offering smaller pack sizes and, in some markets, refillable bottles. But prices are also rising due to growing sales of premium beverages like Fairlife milk and Topo Chico sparkling water.
Quincey said Coke will continue to see some inflation in labor, packaging and commodity costs next year, but he also expects smaller price increases and a return to volume growth. Some volume losses in the third quarter were likely temporary; for example, demand was down in India due to monsoons.
"We see us heading towards a more normalized level of pricing going into next year," Quincey said. "We continue to be very choiceful about where we invest... Read More