In our first development blog, we look back on how our serious game about Nazi regime in Czechoslovakia became the first officially released PC game w
We were in the middle of an ordinary team meeting, just about to order our lunch. Then, with a small bleep, an email notification popped up.
And just like that, we got official rating from German regulators and we could finally release our game in Germany.
Attentat 1942 is a historically accurate game about atrocities of Nazi regime in Czechoslovakia during occupation by Third Reich. As such, it contains Nazi symbols. Entering the German market with swastikas and without an official “stamp” could mean a lawsuit.
Not being able to present our game to German audience felt wrong. The game was done, polished and ready to ship. It was already available in most countries around the world. But we couldn’t pull the lever and ublock it for German players. Or we could pull it and risk dragging our team and Charles University to court.
That changed with that email. Enclosed within it was our brand new 12+ rating, issued by the German regulatory office USK (Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body). A seal of approval, a stamp that allows us to distribute Attentat 1942 to our German neighbors.
We felt relieved, excited, happy and – we have to admit – kind of victorious, because the journey to get our game published in Germany took a really long time. Let us show you how we got there.
Attentat 1942 was released on Steam a year ago, on October 31,2017. It deals with the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, ruler of the Nazi-occupied Czech lands. It is based on extensive research conducted by professional historians and on testimonies of survivors. The game combines interactive comics, video-interviews and archival film footage – we want to show the profound impact the war and the totalitarian regime had on the lives and minds of ordinary people. And it looks like we succeeded.
Just to quote a few Steam reviews: “Definitely a unique game, if you have even the slightest interest in events depicted, I thoroughly recommend it.” – “It’s a fascinating interactive experience.” – “Fantastic idea, would like to see more games like it.”
We were so happy that our hard work of several years had paid off and people all around the world were voicing how Attentat 1942 helped them to understand what Nazi totality was like in Bohemia.
But our happiness was diluted by the fact that people from our neighbor country, coincidentally also the third largest gaming market, couldn’t play it. If you were a German player, searching for Attentat 1942 in any game store would return nothing.
