Facebook drops shooting game demo at conservative event Dave Lee

North America technology reporter Published duration 23 February 2018

image copyright Epic Games image caption Bullet Train is set in a train station

Facebook has said it regrets promoting a virtual reality shooting game on its stand at a US conservatives' event.

The game allows the player to shoot imaginary weapons against enemies in a public train station.

Facebook said it removed the display at the Conservative Political Action Conference "out of respect" for victims of a recent school shooting in Florida.

"We regret that we failed to do so in the first place," Hugo Barra, the company's head of VR, told the BBC.

The tech titan had already defended its presence at the political jamboree in Maryland this week.

"Facebook routinely participates in events hosted by organizations across the political spectrum," a company spokesman said.

The event has been dominated by discussions over gun control following a school shooting that left 17 people dead in Parkland, Florida, last week.

One of the features of Facebook's stand this year was a demonstration station for Oculus Rift, its virtual reality product.

media caption How young conservatives view #NeverAgain

One game being played by delegates was Bullet Train, a free title first unveiled in 2015.

Footage of the game being played at the event was posted to Twitter by Sean Morrow, a journalist at Now This News.

Facebook's head of VR added: "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."