Google has taken "BombGaza" and "Gaza Assault: Code Red" out of its Play app store after the two games received outrage from customers amidst current real-life conflicts the country is involved in.
BombGaza was created by PLAYFTM and developed for Android smartphones and tablets, PC Magazine reported. Released on July 29th, the game has players "drop bombs on Gaza and avoid killing civilians."
While the game received five-star reviews, it also received harsh criticism, as did its developer and Google, with user Nadeem Yaseen calling it, "spineless disgusting filth," and saying it attempts to "profit from the suffering of others."
"Would you be doing the same if a member of your family was murdered?" Yaseen said in a one-star review. "Utterly vile filth of a game from a sick and twisted individual."
Israeli news source Haaretz said "BombGaza" is based on the current conflict with Israel and Palestine, in which bombs have killed over 1,700 people in Gaza, including close to 400 children, CNET reported.
"Utterly shameful. Real people, many of them children, are dying in Gaza," commenter George Coote wrote. "Many of those who haven't been killed face life with debilitating injuries, bereavement and without homes. Their suffering is as real as yours or mine, and to make light of it like this speaks of your essential failure as a human. Shame on the creators of this game, and those who 'play' it."
NothingIsReal, creator of Gaza Assault: Code Red, said the game "brings you to the forefront of the Middle-East conflict, in correlation [with] ongoing real world events," PC Magazine reported. Players are dropped behind the wheel of an armed Israeli drone and work to "secure the region" and keep civilians safe from terrorists.
A Google spokesman confirmed Gaza Assault being removed from the app store after being available for two weeks.
"We remove apps from Google Play that violate our policies," the spokesman said. He did not reveal the exact policies that were violated. However, Google Play's policies forbid games to depict unnecessary violence, bullying, and hate speech.
