Skip to main content

Amsterdam hotel’s destruction in Call of Duty may prompt lawsuit

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II saw its full release just days ago on October 28. While fans of the series are excited over yet another return of the first-person shooter series, Netherlands news site De Volkskrant reports that an Amsterdam hotel isn’t too pleased due to its unpleasant inclusion in the game.

Modern Warfare II is HERE | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

Throughout the years, Activision has taken inspiration from real-world events and locations for the Call of Duty series. Modern Warfare II is no different, with Amsterdam’s Conservatorium Hotel being included in a scene where it is destroyed in a battle’s crossfire. However, this inclusion may result in a lawsuit and future actions from the hotel against Activision Blizzard, according to reports.

“We have taken note of the fact that the Conservatorium Hotel is undesirably the scene of the new Call of Duty,” Conservatorium Hotel manager Roy Tomassen said to the Volkskrant. “More generally, we don’t support games that seem to encourage the use of violence. The game in no way reflects our core values ​​and we regret our apparent and unwanted involvement.”

This isn’t the first instance of improper and unprompted usage of real-life locations in the latest Call of Duty. Modern Warfare II’s beta featured a location that closely resembled Los Angeles’ Getty Museum. The map doesn’t appear in the game’s full release, which could possibly be due to a similar situation to the one Activison Blizzard currently faces with the Conservatorium.

The museum map was in the beta for #ModernWarfare2 but wasn’t included in the full game at launch.

Activision hasn’t released any info on why it’s been removed from the game, but I think it has something to do with copyright or other legal issues with the Getty museum in LA. pic.twitter.com/2LU5QySDq8

— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) October 30, 2022

We’ve reached out to Amsterdam’s Conservatorium Hotel for further details and future plans and will update this story when we hear back.

Editors' Recommendations

DeAngelo Epps
Former Digital Trends Contributor
De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…
All Call of Duty games in order, by release date and chronologically
e3 2021 missing games call of duty

Call of Duty is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. The original Call of Duty set a new standard for first-person shooters, the series' online multiplayer work has been a must-play for gamers for nearly two decades, and Warzone has been one of the top battle royale experiences of late.

The series has covered a lot of warfare, from World War II to futuristic fictional wars in 2187, but never in any set order. Players have been bounced around from era to era with each annual COD release and even revisited the same conflicts multiple times from different perspectives through direct sequels and remakes.

Read more
Call of Duty: Warzone is finally coming to mobile in March
Gameplay from Call of Duty: Warzone mobile

Activision's popular battle royale game Call of Duty: Warzone is making the jump to mobile in March. Specifically, it launches for iOS and Android devices on March 21.

This is a separate game from Tencent's Call of Duty: Mobile, which is currently available on the App Store and Google Play Store. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is made in-house by several Activision teams, including Beenox, Digital Legends, Solid State Studios, and Shanghai Studios. Further signifying that connection is that Warzone Mobile has shared progression with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and the PC and console versions of Warzone. Payers can level up the same weapons, access content from the BlackCell Battle Pass and store, and gain XP on the same account across all three games. Warzone Mobile will also have full controller support, although it will have a virtual controller overlay that's highly customizable.

Read more
Hogwarts Legacy beats out Call of Duty to become 2023’s bestselling game
A student waving a wand in Hogwarts Legacy.

Circana's Mat Piscatella has released video game market highlights for 2023, and WB Games' Hogwarts Legacy ended up being the bestselling game of 2023, beating out the likes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

"Hogwarts Legacy finished as 2023’s bestselling video game in the U.S. market in dollar sales. It is the first year since 2008 that a non-Call of Duty or Rockstar-developed title ranked 1st (Rock Band)," Piscatella explained on X. "Hogwarts Legacy was the bestselling game of the year on PlayStation platforms, ranked 2nd on Xbox platforms, and placed 5th on Nintendo platforms."

Read more