You may have noticed some games on the App Store recently with censored or changed images like the one above, but Apple has offered reassurances that this is just part of a misunderstanding between developers and the storefront.
Several developers including Splash Damage (best known for the console version of Batman: Arkham Origins), Elektron, and Team Chaos noticed that their games were being rejected from the App Store on what seemed to be arbitrary criteria. According to a report from Pocket Gamer, a UK blog dedicated to mobile gaming, these studios were being asked to edit images and preview materials on the App Store to remove references to guns or violence against humans.
Apple’s app review guidelines can be vague. Speaking with PocketGamer, a spokesperson for Elektron said, Since the metadata is visible to all users on the App Store, this content must meet the 4+ rating requirement, even when purchasing is restricted by a higher rating.” This also wouldn’t be the first time that Apple has restricted what can published on their digital store front. Games like Sweatshop and Endgame: Syria, which covered Apple’s use of sweatshop labor to make iOS devices and the Syrian civil war have been consistently removed from the App Store.
OrangePixel, one of the developers affected in the apparent crackdown on guns and violence, fought Apple’s ruling. The developer tried to release an update to their game, Gunslugs 2, in mid-January. In a blog post from January 30, it claimed that the update was rejected “because [a] screenshot (and possibly all screenshots from my game) show violence against a human being.” At the time, other games with much more graphic content were promoted on the App Store without any problems, leading to some confusion among developers.
However, a source close to GameSpot revealed that this has all been a misunderstanding. Developers who have resubmitted their games are now clearing the approval process without a problem. OrangePixel’s blog also confirmed the change.
“The update was eventually approved, without having to modify screenshots. And another update has since also passed without problems.”
We’ve reached out to Apple for further comment and will update this story with additional details as they’re made available.
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