Activision hires lobbyists to counter violent games bill

Activision-Blizzard has asked a lobbying group to tackle a Senate bill that calls on Congress to investigate the effects of violent video games on children.

The Violent Content Research Act was first introduced by West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller in December of last year, and called for the national academy of sciences to fund research into the hot-button issue in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary.

While the publisher has itself remained silent on the bill, Activision has been a major part of the violence in games debate since it first became a national issue after the console release of Mortal Kombat, and records show the company has hired lobbying firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to represent their interests to congress.

The records show that Activision has paid Akin Gump $130,000 over the course of their three-year relationship.

Develop has the full story.