Facebook abruptly removes VR shooting game at 2018 CPAC

IMAGE: OCULUS/EPIC GAMES

BY KERRY FLYNN17 HOURS AGO

Facebook pulled a demo of Bullet Train, a virtual reality game that lets players use an imaginary gun to pretend shoot people in a train station, at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference. 

The move comes following criticism for featuring a violent game so closely after the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida left 17 people dead. 

SEE ALSO: I just don't understand these cheesy virtual reality movie 'experiences'

"There is a standard set of experiences included in the Oculus demos we feature at public events. A few of the action games can include violence. In light of the recent events in Florida and out of respect for the victims and their families, we have removed them from this demo. We regret that we failed to do so in the first place," Facebook's VP of VR Hugo Barra said in an emailed statement to Mashable. 

As the students and loved ones of the victims still mourn and the gun control debate is reignited, Facebook's decision to promote a shooting game struck a chord of poor timing. Here's a video of the experience, as shared on Twitter: