Updated
Updated · The Verge · Jun 6
GOG Apologizes for June 5 Newsletter With Nazi-Linked SS Symbols
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Jun 6

GOG Apologizes for June 5 Newsletter With Nazi-Linked SS Symbols

3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Jun 6

Summary

  • GOG said a June 5 email promoting The End of the Sun wrongly included a doubled symbol associated with the Nazi SS and apologized after users flagged the imagery.
  • The company blamed a series of mistakes — miscommunication with its German QA team, inconsistent font rendering on some platforms and bank-holiday understaffing.
  • One GOG explanation said the Slavic Sowilō rune for “sun” could render as ϟ on mobile devices, but a verified Reddit representative also said the doubled runes had been noticed before distribution.
  • That post said the material was withheld from Germany out of local sensitivities, prompting questions about why it was sent elsewhere; the game's developers said they were surprised GOG used the symbols at all.

Insights

Was a font glitch truly to blame for GOG's Nazi symbol email, or was it a deeper cultural blind spot?
Knowing a symbol was too sensitive for Germany, why did GOG send it to the rest of the world?