If you're a game developer who's created an iOS game that contains content based on the Civil War... well, it sucks to be you right now.
Thanks to the Confederate flag controversy that was exacerbated with the church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, Apple has issued an edict to iOS developers: No more Confederate flags in apps. If Apple had stopped there and given developers time to remove the flag from their games, that would have been one thing. But then Apple took it a step further — perhaps a step too far.
Instead of allowing developers time to update their apps, Apple summarily yanked every game that contains Confederate flag imagery across the board. No warning, no grace period. Just boom, gone.
Kotaku reports that the message sent to developers explaining the situation states:
"We are writing to notify you that your app has been removed from the App Store because it includes images of the Confederate flag used in offensive and mean-spirited ways."
While there may be some apps out there that fit that description, we can't help wondering what's so offensive or "mean-spirited" about a game like Hunted Cow's Civil War: 1863? It's a turn-based strategy game in which you command either the Union or Confederate armies and play through some of the major battles of the Civil War, such as the Battle of Dutton's Hill and the Battle of Oak Ridge.
The Confederate flag in that game is used as an identifier of which army you're controlling — not as a symbol of racism. And that's the problem with these kinds of knee-jerk censorship moves (which the App Store is, unfortunately, becoming known for): they ignore context entirely.
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