History is a big piece of context when creating a video game. The release of Grand Theft Auto 3 is reported to have been altered at the 11th hour back in September of 2001, and games like Doom are altered in specific countries. This is the case in Germany, a country with a more than questionable history; which still has one of the most restrictive rating agencies in the western world. Blood turned green or black, gore turned down, turning humans into robots, and removing or altering Nazis and swastikas.

The latter of which is part of the de-Nazification effort of Germany; put forth by the allied forces in the last moments of World War 2. With that, one of the most common games to see alterations or bans is Muse Software’s Castle Wolfenstein, or as it has been since id Software’s Wolfenstein. A game about an alternate history where the allied forces don’t win and begin the de-Nazification process, resulting in the goal Nazi Germany had in 1939-45.

However, it turns out there may be a change in the winds. Bethesda’s Wolfenstein: Youngblood, a multiplayer-focused shooter in the Wolfenstein world, will be the first in the series not to censor Nazism or the swastikas. This comes in the wake of the 2018 law allowing the rating board Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (roughly translated to: Entertainment Software Self-Regulation) to acknowledge imagery of Nazism and displaying swastikas under the “social adequacy clause.” Not causing effects to the overall gameplay, but breaking away from the normalities many have grown used to and will be a break from the tradition of the de-Nazification rules before it.

If you  are able to read German and would like to read the full statement; the announcement was made on Bethesda’s German forum. There was also an English translation sent out via email soon after this announcement yesterday afternoon. However, if you read the Wolfenstein: Youngblood FAQ, the official statement is still, “Yes, all assets and the game will be fully sanitized.”Wolfenstein: Youngblood will release on the 26th of July on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, and PC.

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