Stores on US Army and Air Force bases will no longer be allowed to sell Medal of Honor, Kotaku reports, due to the fact that its multiplayer features a playable Taliban faction.

Retailer GameStop, which has 49 stores located on military bases in the US, was asked by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service to remove the game from sale.

"GameStop has agreed out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform we will not carry Medal of Honor in any of our AAFES based stores," an email to GameStop employees, obtained by Kotaku, explains. "As such, GameStop agreed to have all marketing material pulled by noon today and to stop taking reservations. Customers who enter our AAFES stores and wish to reserve Medal of Honor can and should be directed to the nearest GameStop location off base."

Though Medal of Honor surprisingly managed to avoid much controversy when it was revealed that one side plays as the Taliban in multiplayer, it seems to be catching up now. The British defence secretary Liam Fox, in his infinite wisdom, recently branded it a "tasteless product" and called upon retailers to ban the game from their shelves.

EA Games president Frank Gibeau has defended the decision as a "creative risk," saying that the uproar won't "compromise our creative vision and what we want to do."

With singleplayer developed by EA Los Angeles and multiplayer by DICE, Medal of Honor is headed to PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 12 in North America.