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Banned Civil War games return to the App Store, confederate flags removed from icons

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Banned Civil War games return to the App Store, confederate flags removed from icons
HexAar Old

Two Civil War strategy games that were removed from the App Store last week have returned to iOS: one unchanged, and one with a fresh icon.

Last week, Apple followed retailers like Etsy and Walmart in removing products that showed the confederate flag - which some say is an offensive symbol of racism. Civil War games that feature the flag were caught in the crossfire.

Now, the two most prominent games that were removed have been reinstated.

Ultimate General: Gettysberg is back and unchanged. "After several late night phone calls with Apple yesterday and today the game has returned to App Store the way it was… in 1863," says developer Game-Labs.

HexWar New

Civil War: 1862 and 1863 have also returned, with new icons and screenshots that don't show the flag. "The correct flags will appear in game," developer HexWar says. "Just no rebel flags in the icon, splash, or prominent in screenshots".

You can see the old icon for 1862 up top, and the new icon for the game above.

In a statement last week, Apple said "we have removed apps from the App Store that use the Confederate flag in offensive or mean-spirited ways, which is in violation of our guidelines. We are not removing apps that display the Confederate flag for educational or historical uses".

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer