Google blocks ‘historically correct’ WW2 game in four countries for Nazi referral

The Google Play Store has blocked the ‘historically correct’ WW2 game Attentat 1942 in Germany, France, Austria and Russia, because the game refers to Nazis. The game is available through the Apple App Store and Steam. The developer is still in talks with Google.

Attentat 1942 is a WWII game told through the eyes of survivors. The game relies heavily on dialogues, interactive comics and authentic historical images. The Czech developer says he does not want to glorify Nazism, but rather to show the horrors of the war. Attentat 1942 has been available via Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux since October 2017. Recently, the game has also become available in Germany, which is known for its strict legislation on Nazi references. For the game, the developer collaborated with historians from the Czech Academy of Sciences.

In the past six months, developer and publisher Charles Games has made the game compatible for Android and iOS. Last week the developer submitted the game to Apple and Google for approval for placement in the relevant app stores. Both appstores initially disapproved of the game for certain countries, including Germany, due to references to fascism and Nazism.

The developer says he expected this and filed an objection to the decision. In doing so, Charles Games stated that the game only refers to the Nazis because it is historically correct and refers to events that actually took place. Apple approved the game after this, but Google did not.

Late last week published the developer on Twitter the email from Google explaining the blocking of Attentat 1942. This seemed to be Google’s final verdict on the matter, until Google Czech Republic contacted Charles Games on Monday afternoon to “ further investigate ” the Attentat 1942 blockade. The developer is now ‘cautiously optimistic’ that the game can still be available worldwide in the Google Play Store, although the geographic blockade remains intact for the time being. Attentat 1942 will be available next week in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.