Wolfenstein Released in Germany Without Nazi References
Wolfenstein will be releasing in Germany for the first time... without Nazis.
The Wolfenstein franchise will be releasing for the first time in Germany with Machine Games's The New Order with one difference: every trace of Nazism in the game will be removed.
Wolfenstein has historically never been released in Germany because it's centered on the player fighting the Nazi regime. As a result, the game is riddled with Nazism. However, the series has never been able to set foot in Germany, because German law forbids the use of any Nazi symbolism. To prevent Wolfenstein from releasing in Germany, PC releases of the games have always been geo-locked.
"In Germany, we've removed all Nazi symbols and references. Unlike films and other works of art, video games in Germany are forbidden to use such symbols and references as they are classified in Germany as toys and not media art," states Bethesda head of PR Pete Hines.
Nazis in The New Order will be not-so-subtly replaced with The Regime.
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Catherine Cai was a freelance news writer for Tom's Hardware. She covered a variety of tech industry news, ranging from PC components to PC and console gaming.
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cpatel1987 Sounds like the bigger concern is the categorization of video games as a toy rather than media art.Reply -
Matt Nelson I laugh when I see stuff like this... Not sure why, ultimately it's not funny, maybe it's to keep it surface level and cheapen all angles...... lolReply -
squirrelboy ReplySounds like the bigger concern is the categorization of video games as a toy rather than media art.
Toys and games are things you play (with). You don't play with art or movies.
I think that that's the reasoning behind the catogarization. -
kyee7k Nazis, Nazi Germany, Hilter, etc. are particularly very sensitive subjects within Germany.Reply -
catswold Reply13338448 said:Don't mention the war.
I did once or twice, but I think I got away with it.
BASIL! Behave yourself. -
megiv How they expect to avoid the mistakes of the past if they are ignoring their history ? Not a smart move, to say the least.Reply