GOG apologizes for emailing people Nazi symbols

GOG said a June 5 newsletter promoting the Slavic mythology-inspired game The End of the Sun included runic symbols that resembled Nazi SS imagery. The company blamed a series of mistakes, including QA miscommunication, inconsistent font rendering across platforms, and understaffing during a bank holiday.

The incident highlights how culturally specific symbols can create serious moderation and localization risks when distributed at scale. For game platforms, stronger QA processes around imagery, fonts, and regional sensitivities are becoming essential as marketing assets cross languages and devices.

Good ol' games? | Image: GOG

GOG sent a newsletter about the game The End of the Sun on June 5th that included symbols associated with the Nazi SS. The Steam competitor issued a statement attributing the inclusion to a "series of mistakes," including miscommunication with the German QA team, inconsistent font rendering, and being understaffed during a bank holiday, among other things. The game is a fantasy title set in a universe based on Slavic mythology and culture. So GOG included Slavic runes in its email promoting the title, including the Sowilō symbol, which means "sun." According to one of GOG's multiple explanations, some platforms, including mobile phones, ren … Read the full story at The Verge.