Swastika prompts German Wolfenstein recall

Activision has issued a complete recall of all German versions of recent World War 2 shooter, Wolfenstein, after reports of a swastika being faintly visible.

Swastikas and Nazis feature prominently in international versions of the game obviously, but German law requires their censorship and instead pits players against a nameless army.

Featuring a swastika is so forbidden in German media that punishments can include jail time for the management of any company which does not take immediate action to rectify the situation. You can bet that if there was a critical bug in the game then it wouldn't get patched this fast though.

Swastika's can still be used in an artistic or educational context obviously, but German has apparently taken a firm stance on the old 'Are Games Art?' debate.

"Although it is not a conspicuous element in the normal game ... we have decided to take this game immediately from the German market," is Activision's official statement, according to Kotaku.

You can check out our thoughts on the full game in our Wolfenstein review - but suffice to say that we greeted the game with a resounding m'eh. Well, except for Richard anyway. He really liked it.

Let us know your thoughts in the forums.