A few weeks back we wrote about the review process Checkpoint '38 went through in Germany, where games depicting Nazi symbolism go through a separate review body. Here's where that landed.
We built a Germany-specific version, released alongside the global one rather than replacing it. The change is narrow and specific: swastikas and party emblems are swapped for a neutral mark. We want to be precise about what that does and doesn't touch, because it's easy to assume more got changed than actually did.
What's different in the Germany build:
Swastikas, SS runes, and party emblems replaced with a neutral symbol
What's identical in both builds:
The J-stamp system
Aryan certification paperwork and Nuremberg classifications
Detention mechanics
The three-layer pressure structure: the booth (professional), the ride home through Konstanz (social), and the dinner table (family)
Every dialogue, every consequence, every ending
We also updated the content descriptors that ship with the store page, clarifying that the game doesn't endorse the hateful views its antagonists hold. Franz isn't the direct target of that hatred himself, but his wife pushes back on it and his friends live it, and we added an in-game disclaimer to remove any ambiguity there.
For players outside Germany: the global build ships uncensored by default, with an optional toggle if you'd rather play with the symbols hidden.
The demo is live in both versions today. The base game is still Coming Soon while we finish the rest of the release prep.