Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Lands Activision in Legal Trouble Again

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 isn't just one of publisher Activision Blizzard's heavily played games. It's also a source of controversy for it right now. The company is being sued by the family of an Angolan rebel chief for his depiction in the game.

Jonas Savimbi was responsible for a decades-long insurgency against the Angolan government and its chief party the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). He died in battle against government forces in 2002.

The first story mission of Call of Duty Black Ops 2 has players assisting Savimbi in combat against the MLPA. He is portrayed leading his troops shouting "fight, my brothers" whilst using a grenade launcher.

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Savimbi's children, who are based in France, state that the game presents their father as a "barbarian" and are seeking EUR 1 million in damages from Activision Blizzard. The family's lawyer Carole Enfert said Savimbi is represented as a "big halfwit who wants to kill everybody". The lawsuit contends that he was in fact a "political leader and strategist".

A lawyer for Activision Blizzard, Etienne Kowalski, has rejected the claim, stating that the game shows Savimbi as a "good guy" - and that he is portrayed fairly, "for who he was ... a character of Angolan history, a guerrilla chief who fought the MPLA."

This isn't the first time Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has resulted in Activision stepping into legal controversy. In 2014, Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega tried to sue the company, albeit unsuccessfully for his appearance in the game.