Due to Germany getting rather irate whenever anyone asks them what they were up to between 1939 and 1945, international PC versions of Wolfenstein: The New Order will be fenced off from Germany and Austria in order to prevent anyone in those countries from seeing that symbol. You know, the one that shall not be named.
As the Bethesda Blog explained, it all comes down to the developer and publisher not wanting to skip out on German territories when the game is released, as that country has rather strict rules on any such Nazi imagery being seen. In fact, the current build of the game is downright illegal in the Fatherland.
“In order to prevent any digital copies of the international version from being sold, exported, imported or distributed into Germany, PC versions will be geo-locked so that they cannot be activated within Germany,” Bethesda wrote on their blog.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is a fictional story set in an alternate universe in the 1960?s. Names, characters, organizations, locations and events are either imaginary or depicted in a fictionalized manner.
The story and contents of this game are not intended to and should not be construed in any way to condone, glorify or endorse the beliefs, ideologies, events, actions, persons or behaviour of the Nazi regime or to trivialize its war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity.
On the plus side, when German and Austrian players to get their hands on the re-skinned game, it’ll still be with oodles of violence. Hopefully. Or maybe you’ll see unicorns gush out of a freshly-made torso wound. Germany is weird like that.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is out May 20 on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Last Updated: May 6, 2014
Kromas
May 6, 2014 at 10:37
That symbol? Oh hell … is Prince in the game?!
Unavengedavo
May 6, 2014 at 10:41
No, he is talking about the Swastika. The symbol still used widely by Indian religions and means “well-being”, but which was adopted by the Nazi Party as a symbol of the Aryan race O_o
Kromas
May 6, 2014 at 10:42
Damn so sad. I would have prefered you running around singing purple rain and capping Nazi Ass.
Unavengedavo
May 6, 2014 at 10:51
I am sure that there will be a mod for that
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 6, 2014 at 10:48
Worst boss fight ever.
Kromas
May 6, 2014 at 10:52
Boss??!! He is the leader of the resistance!
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 6, 2014 at 10:57
Not with that silly little mustache he’s not.
Kromas
May 6, 2014 at 11:24
Works for me.
Alex Hicks
May 6, 2014 at 10:48
Well, I for one, am loving this header game. Although I’m confused as to the restrictions – Nielsen, Kelsey Grammar (or was it David Hyde Pierce), and Mike Myers … something to do with comedy actors clearly; but not all movie stars, and not all 80’s … hhhhmmmm
What’s that? I’m supposed to comment on the article? You what?
The D
May 6, 2014 at 10:56
Completely random! I just thought that the image above perfectly summed up ze Cherman attitude to the past.
Wincethis
May 6, 2014 at 11:02
SUCH LULZ
Lardus-Resident Perve
May 6, 2014 at 11:02
Oh yes, “Nothing to see here”!
Alex Hicks
May 6, 2014 at 11:07
Dammit – let me have my conspiracy theories.
As for ze Cherman attitude – it’s actually pretty strange. I travelled through parts of Germany recently; and there are quite a few monuments to the war, particularly in Hamburg. The general feeling I got from it was more a reminder to the German people: “We can’t let this happen again.”
I’m not sure their actual reasons for the banning of Nazi symbols in Germany – is it an attempt to hide the past (ludicrously deluded if so), or maybe fear it will be taken to heart by some Neo-Nazi movement (in which case this is a clear-cut case of one size not fitting all)?
HvR - THE Average GAmer
May 6, 2014 at 11:32
It is only banned for anything not relating to education.
BacchusZA
May 7, 2014 at 01:37
So far as banning Nazi symbols goes, I have an idea it’s not so much an attempt to hide the past as it’s shame and revulsion, a rejection of what happened in the past and what those symbols represented.
Most families have that one dodgy relative, the uncle that nobody talks about & that you don’t see in family photos because they’re embarrassed to admit he’s a family member. They’ll always be part of the family, but as a family you want **nothing** to do with them.
Well, in Germanys’ case, where the Nazis are concerned, that dodgy uncle didn’t get caught for something like tax fraud, or shoplifting, or killing somebody in a drunk-driving accident. Their dodgy uncle was a paedophile, or serial rapist, something like that.
Wincethis
May 6, 2014 at 11:01
Eh? What about the console versions?
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 6, 2014 at 11:03
What’s a console?
Wincethis
May 6, 2014 at 11:04
It’s that thing not getting geo-locked.
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 6, 2014 at 11:10
You say that like it means something.
VampyreSquirrel
May 6, 2014 at 11:14
Yeah, but it’s censored though.
Wincethis
May 6, 2014 at 11:26
You can’t buy a copy from England and play it in Germany?
VampyreSquirrel
May 6, 2014 at 11:27
Depends on which train you take? lol
I was talking about console games being censored just btw
Wincethis
May 6, 2014 at 11:29
Ya. That’s what I mean. The console game will be censored in Germany, not in the UK and I believe they are the same zone so shouldn’t be an issue playing.
VampyreSquirrel
May 6, 2014 at 11:32
Yeah… wouldn’t work for South Park TSOT though… still censored.
Dutch Matrix
May 6, 2014 at 11:06
Remember, us console peasants’ feelings does not count…
Wincethis
May 6, 2014 at 11:07
I was actually trolling 😉
Admiral Chief in Space
May 6, 2014 at 11:05
I did nazi that coming
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 6, 2014 at 11:10
I did see that coming.
HvR - THE Average GAmer
May 6, 2014 at 11:15
I do not know why people get so hitlerical about it.
Admiral Chief in Space
May 6, 2014 at 11:26
I’m Göring to stop now before I lose concentration
HvR - THE Average GAmer
May 6, 2014 at 11:31
And heir you kampf and use my next pun. That just makes me führerious.
KB
May 6, 2014 at 11:56
Then you’ll have to join a concentration camp…
Charl van der Merwe
May 6, 2014 at 16:02
I find this article OFFENSIVE TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE! My Grandfather died in a concentration camp.He fell off the guard tower.