Call of Duty: Black Ops game may be investigated by UK government

A formal complaint will be made to the UK Office of Fair Trading by independent pressure group Gamers’ Voice over concerns they have with the quality of the popular game Call of Duty: Blacks Ops.

The pressure group that was initially setup in November 2009 by UK Labour MP Tom Watson intends to formally complain to the UK government about issues that have arose on PS3 and PC versions of publisher Activision’s most successful game title. Last month Gamers’ Voice stated on their site that they were “literally swamped” with complaint emails about various bugs and an “unfinished” state that rendered the game “completely unplayable for some”. Complaints appear to be largely isolated to PS3 and PC gamers. This may be as a result of the game being originally developed for the Xbox and then ported to other consoles.

Gamers’ Voice sent a letter to Activision to get an official response to concerns raised by gamers. Since Activision have not replied, Chris O’Regan, Gamers’ Voice head of industry relations explained to IncGamers that they will take the matter further.

“As a result of their inaction we will test the might of government agencies against Activision. We can only hope this brings about some litigious action. These agencies do exist to protect our rights as consumers, let us see if they can fullfill their remit on this pressing issue.

“GV wish to set an example with Activision to ensure games are not released in an unfinished state. If litigation is initiated, then a precedent would be set. In other words, publishers will have to reconsider releasing unfinished code in the future, in the UK at least.”

If the game is indeed proven to be buggy, UK gamers may be entitled to a refund under the Sale of Good Acts 1979.