In what is only the latest in an odd parallel of the “real” world, online gaming phenomenon Fortnite has decided to ban their most powerful weapon: the Drum Gun.
Oddly enough, this weapon resembles nothing more than an automatic rifle of days gone by. The massive multiplayer online game’s creators haven’t shared specifically why the gun is being “vaulted” — or retired from the game — but gun-rights advocates have a pretty good idea. It was causing the same type of destruction online that the left wants to say is being caused in real life by AR-15s.
If you’re not familiar with Fortnite, you probably haven’t been around a teenager or young adult recently. The video game has become a cultural phenom that’s truly taking the world by storm, starting only recently in late 2017.
This open-world survival game allows individuals and groups to craft weapons and tools, grab resources — and then attempt to stay alive while roving hunting parties attempt to take them out. With more than 40 million active players as of January 2018, less than six months after full release, the game is expected to continue to grow. Not only are people actively playing the game, they are participating in conventions and watching YouTube and Twitch videos of other people playing. The platform isn’t the only thing that’s massive, as revenue continues to grow from micro-transactions within the game and is currently estimated at over $300 million per month.
While Fortnite’s creators haven’t outright stated that they pulled the weapon due to real-life violence, it wouldn’t surprise some gamers. The Drum Gun, so named for the massive drum underneath the barrel, has only been available since the middle of summer. During the short-lived lifecycle of the overpowered gun, it was able to provide the gun owners with an unprecedented amount of firepower. This didn’t go well for others who were attempting to build structures within the platform, as the gun was strong enough to blow it to bits within a very short period of time. While there are still some relatively powerful weapons in the game, the shift in direction is indicative of the shift towards gun suppression in the media.
The painful truth is that the media is driving a highly negative narrative around high-powered weapons, and that continues to flavor the tone of the conversation throughout the country. One only hopes that lawmakers don’t find a way to “vault” assault rifles and other powerful weapons from stores, as then they’ll only be available to individuals who are obtaining them via nefarious means. Controlling gun violence doesn’t start with limiting access to guns — it begins with education.
~ Firearm Daily
