‘Call Of Duty: WWII’ To Have Censored Swastikas In Germany, No Word On US Release

Call Of Duty: WWII has been marketed as one of the most realistic depictions of World War II, but, in accord with constitutional law, the game won’t feature the Swastika symbol in its German editions. No announcement has been made with regard to the U.S. release, but it appears some changes might happen for us as well.

Our investigation into this controversial subject was spurred on by an alleged chat log posted on reddit. In conversation with an Activision support professional, it was said that the German-language editions [of Call Of Duty: WWII] will be censored for constitutional reasons. It was also added that an official statement will be made regarding other regions at a later date.

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For those familiar with Call Of Duty’s previous World War II titles, this will be no surprise. Under § 86a of the German constitution, all symbols and greetings related to the Third Reich have been banned. This ruling impacted older entries like Call Of Duty: World At War and Call Of Duty: Finest Hour. The censorship typically resulted in swapping in a different country symbol or replacing a portrait of Adolf Hitler with a portrait of a Hitler Youth member instead.

Obviously Activision has to abide by the German constitution if it wants to sell its games there, but it appears some of those global practices might seep their way into Call Of Duty WWII’s U.S. release too. Not only does the game’s reveal trailer conceal Nazi imagery, but it’s U.S. teaser site also makes changes to German passport and document stylings to remove the Swastika from its designs. Most recently, the native Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies Chronicles DLC removed Swastikas from remastered German maps and replaced them with statues or Iron Crosses.

While a few altered assets will have no impact on the game itself, these findings have sparked an isolated but furious debate around the world. All sides agree that German law must be followed, but, beyond that, there are other discussions to be had. Is it disrespectful to essentially rewrite history by changing the Nazi identity? Does removing the symbols help stifle the spread of Nazi ideas? Is this censorship just political correctness for the sake of political correctness? We’ll let our readers address those questions in the comments.

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That being said, even if Nazi imagery is altered in all versions of Call Of Duty: WWII, there may be some clever ways for Sledgehammer to work around it. Maybe weapons will conceal where the symbols would otherwise be. Maybe we won’t see depictions of Hitler because there’s no narrative reason for it. If censorship has been in mind from the start of WWII’s development, it’s possible most folks won’t even know it’s there.

Call Of Duty: WWII comes to PS4, Xbox One and PC Nov. 3.

What do you think of the Swastika debate surrounding Call Of Duty: WWII? Should those symbols be featured in the U.S. release? Should we hide them? Is this a stupid fight to have in the first place? Tell us in the comments section!