Yesterday video footage of a controversial segment from Modern Warfare 2 hit the Internet. Today MW2 publisher Activision explained the video, which has since been pulled from the Internet.

In the scene, players step into the roles of terrorists and gun down civilians at an airport. It's a bit more shocking than usual for gaming, but Activision says that's the point. "The scene establishes the depth of evil and the cold bloodedness of a rogue Russian villain and his unit. By establishing that evil, it adds to the urgency of the player’s mission to stop them," a spokesperson told VG247.

"Players have the option of skipping over the scene. At the beginning of the game, there are two ‘checkpoints’ where the player is advised that some people may find an upcoming segment disturbing. These checkpoints can’t be disabled."

Well, kudos to Infinity Ward for making the scene skippable. Would've been funnier if they made a censored version of the scene where you shot up luggage, though.