Apple blocks game The Binding of Isaac because of showing child violence

Apple has banned the popular indie game The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth from the App Store. On Twitter, developer Tyrone Rodriguez showed that Apple is not allowing the game for showing violence against children.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is already available on devices from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, among others, but Apple believes the game contains too much violence against children to be played on its devices. Doing so would break one of Apple’s rules for placing apps on its store. The founder of Nicalis, the game’s publisher and developer, says on his Twitter that he does not agree with the decision and shows examples from other games that are allowed. It is not yet known what the company will do about the decision.

Previously, the original The Binding of Isaac was also blocked, then by Nintendo. The reason for this was the presence of dubious religious content. While it is a rarity for Nintendo to directly block a game, it is less uncommon for Apple. During the discussion in America about the Confederation flag as a symbol of the slavery past, games that used the flag were blocked.

The game stars a boy named Isaac who tries to flee from his mother because she wants to sacrifice him to her god. It is loosely based on the Biblical in which Abraham has to sacrifice his son Isaac to show his faith in God. Where in the Bible story the sacrifice is stopped by an angel, in the game Isaac is alone.