wraggster
December 11th, 2018, 16:02
Military strategy title Afghanistan '11 has been pulled from the iOS App Store due to its inclusion of the Taliban as an enemy faction.
This violates Apple's long-standing policy that such titles should not feature "people from a specific government or other real entity as the enemies" -- a ruling that has affected a handful of other titles over the years.
The game's removal was revealed on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Iain_Slitherine/status/1070348257409331200) by Iain McNeil, development director at the game's creator Slitherine, and spotted by Kotaku (https://kotaku.com/apple-pulls-strategy-game-because-it-features-the-talib-1830891602/amp). McNeil lamented the move, adding "... and people wonder why we don't do iOS anymore."
Responding to queries via Twitter, McNeil said the company has lodged a complaint with Apple -- as have some of the games fans -- and said (https://twitter.com/Iain_Slitherine/status/1070464188559048704) the team "hope Apple change their minds and let the game back in the store."
However, given the Apple has been pulling similar titles under this ruling for close to a decade now, this remains unlikely. The mobile platform holder has previously removed Pacific Strike for featuring Japanese flags, and a US Civil War game Ultimate General: Gettysburg for featuring Confederate flags.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-12-06-apple-pulls-mobile-strategy-game-for-including-taliban-as-enemies
This violates Apple's long-standing policy that such titles should not feature "people from a specific government or other real entity as the enemies" -- a ruling that has affected a handful of other titles over the years.
The game's removal was revealed on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Iain_Slitherine/status/1070348257409331200) by Iain McNeil, development director at the game's creator Slitherine, and spotted by Kotaku (https://kotaku.com/apple-pulls-strategy-game-because-it-features-the-talib-1830891602/amp). McNeil lamented the move, adding "... and people wonder why we don't do iOS anymore."
Responding to queries via Twitter, McNeil said the company has lodged a complaint with Apple -- as have some of the games fans -- and said (https://twitter.com/Iain_Slitherine/status/1070464188559048704) the team "hope Apple change their minds and let the game back in the store."
However, given the Apple has been pulling similar titles under this ruling for close to a decade now, this remains unlikely. The mobile platform holder has previously removed Pacific Strike for featuring Japanese flags, and a US Civil War game Ultimate General: Gettysburg for featuring Confederate flags.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-12-06-apple-pulls-mobile-strategy-game-for-including-taliban-as-enemies