Eidos responds to Sikh controversy

In a statement on the Hitman 2 Web site, Eidos has announced that it has acted in response to criticisms raised by The Sikh Coalition in a recent online campaign. The Sikh Coalition and a number of other international Sikh groups protested the game's depiction of Dalits, a people in India, as followers of an evil cult leader, as well as the combat that players undertake midway through the game against turbaned Sikh characters inside a Sikh place of worship.

In the statement, Eidos said that, along with the game's developer, IO Interactive, it is responding in "a socially and commercially responsible manner by removing from the Hitman 2 Web site all relevant images and content, taking steps to amend the game on all existing platforms, and adapting the next edition of the game due out for the GameCube platform." The statement also said that the publisher had learned its lesson and that it would "observe and respect cultural, religious, and ethical sensitivities in its future products."

Hitman 2 is a third-person action game where players follow the renewed career of Agent 47, a genetically enhanced assassin. The game's assassination missions take place in a wide range of locations, but the game starts off in Sicily, where Agent 47's retirement on a small church's grounds is violently interrupted. For more details, check out our reviews of the PC , PC , and PC versions of the game. The PC version is scheduled for early next year.