Medal of Honor Devs Rename 'Taliban' to 'Opposing Force' in Multiplayer Mode

After months of protest and controversy, Electronic Arts has announced it will rename the opposing army in the Medal of Honor multiplayer mode from 'Taliban' to 'Opposing Force.'

In a blog post this morning, Medal of Honor executive producer Greg Goodrich explained the decision was made for "the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice." Goodrich said the Medal of Honor franchise will "never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise" the memory and service of the men and women in the armed service.

On September 24, EA revealed an open beta for PC users would launch early next month. At the time of announcement, EA Games Label president Frank Gibeau said he was hopeful the beta would clear up some of the controversy surrounding the Afghanistan War shooter's Taliban playable multiplayer faction. Earlier this month, GameStop announced it would not sell Medal of Honor at any of its 49 military base locations in the U.S., by request of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. The request was directly connected to the existence of the Taliban multiplayer faction.

At the time, Gibeau stated that EA wouldn't allow the uproar to "compromise [EA's] creative vision and what we want to do." Like the name of the opposing force in Medal of Honor, things change.