In Germany, games with Nazi symbols will be allowed on the market
Previously, developers of historical games had to remove Nazi symbols from their games in order to release them in Germany. Now the German authorities have allowed such games to be licensed if the use of Nazi images is justified.
Germany has been moving towards this decision for a very long time. The first scandal with a computer game about the Nazis occurred in 1992 – it was Wolfenstein 3D. The lawsuit against the game has become a precedent that the German courts have relied on for more than twenty years. For example, the 2017 game Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, in which there is a satirical scene involving the Fuhrer, had to be censored – an indefinite chancellor without a mustache took Hitler’s place, etc.
All symbols and images associated with organizations recognized as unconstitutional in Germany were banned. However, there is an amendment in the Criminal Code of the country – it allows those materials that were created “for the purpose of promoting art or science, research or teaching, as well as as a historical source or for the reconstruction of historical events.”
Representatives of the German gaming industry fought for the amendment to take effect in relation to games, as it happens in the case of books or films. Finally, their campaign ended in success.
However, this does not mean that any game depicting Nazis will automatically get the opportunity to enter the market. The regulator will consider each case separately and decide whether the game really needs to be released and what age rating to put it. Specific criteria for such an assessment of games are still being developed.
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A source: GameIndustry
