Part 3/11:
Rather than addressing the content directly, some corporations—including Activision—chose to interpret Merks' statement as a harmful stance, leading to their decision to remove his Call of Duty operator bundle, a popular in-game skin, from their store. In statements, Activision explained that they were focusing on celebrating Pride Month with their employees and community, but that they had removed Merks' bundle "due to recent events." This move was perceived by many as a blatant act of virtue signaling, with critics arguing that it was an overreaction to a benign, common-sense statement.