10 Things You Didn't Know About Wolfenstein

After the conclusion of WWII, Germany understandably took measures to distance themselves from the horrendous beliefs and acts of Adolf Hitler's Nazi party.

To do this, they created a series of laws which made it illegal for any non-educational media with reference to the Nazis to be sold in the country. You can see why this might have been a stumbling point for Wolfenstein sales in Germany.

Even with these hurdles in place, Wolfenstein: The New Order became the first title in the franchise to be released in Germany, but how did the developer's move past the prohibition on the sensitive material?

The answer is censorship. The game's creators were forced to rigorously censor and alter their original release, removing any and all imagery and references to the Nazis.

Pete Hines, the head of PR for Wolfenstein publisher Bethesda Softworks, said, "In Germany, we've removed all Nazi symbols and references. Unlike films and other works of art, video games in Germany are forbidden to use such symbols and references as they are classified in Germany as toys and not media art."

In order to avoid the three-year prison sentence the original imagery would likely have incurred on the Wolfenstein crew, the game's enemies were rebranded and named 'The Regime'. It may not seem as real as the version we've become so used to playing, but The Regime represent a similar threat and a pretty cool name to fight against too.