Apple is pulling games from the iPhone and iPad App Store that include Confederate battle flags in the wake of rising public distaste in the wake of recent hate motivated killings in South Carolina. While Confederate flags are disappearing from the App Store, however, apps with other symbols with hate-related symbols such as swastikas are still available.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg (left) includes Confederate flags, Castle Wolfenstein (bottom) includes swastikas
A quick App Store search shows you can download Castle Wolfenstein, which is an old-school game where you shoot Nazis while trying to escape from a castle. Ultimate General: Gettysburg, an educational game showing the U.S. Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, is gone and the developers said Apple wants all Confederate flags removed the title before it can return to the App Store.
Game-Apps, the developers behind Ultimate General: Gettysburg, were clearly disappointed with Apple's move saying,
Spielberg's 'Schindler's List' did not try to amend his movie to look more comfortable. The historical 'Gettysburg' movie (1993) is still on iTunes. We believe that all historical art forms: books, movies, or games such as ours, help to learn and understand history, depicting events as they were. True stories are more important to us than money.
Games-Apps decided they won't change their game, so it won't be returning to the App Store.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called to "remove the symbols and word" that feed racism earlier this week after a white gun man shot and killed several people in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in South Carolina. Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers have started pulling Confederate-related merchandise from their inventory, and now Apple is doing the same with iPhone and iPad apps.
The Mac Observer has reached out to Apple to see if their new App Store policy is going to extend beyond Confederate-related symbols. We'll report back with Apple's response.