Google Removes ‘Slavery Simulator’ From App Store: “Great Game, But I Think There Should Be More Torture Options” | Abroad

The game from developer Magnus Games, which was posted to the app store on April 20, allowed players to “trade, buy, and sell” black characters. Also, players could torture black characters in different ways. Images from the game show that users were given the choice to free the enslaved characters or to “use slaves for their own enrichment”: “Prevent the abolition of slavery and amass wealth”.

The game, rated “suitable for all ages,” was downloaded more than 1,000 times in a month. About sixty users left a rating: the game received four out of five stars. One of the reviewers wrote: “Great game to pass the time. But I think there should be more torture options.”

Google this week removed the app from the Brazilian playstore after anger was generated. “Shameless racism,” tweeted Renata Souza, a black activist and regional politician from Rio de Janeiro. “In the image illustrating the game, a white man is surrounded by black men. It’s absurdly violent. Google and the developer must answer for this crime of hate and racism.” An organization that fights fake news in the country tweets in disbelief: “Sometimes we think we are in some kind of macabre horror movie, because a company like Google makes such a game possible.”

Denise Pessoa, a representative of the ruling political party PT, expressed her displeasure on Twitter: “It is absurd that there is a game available that spreads cruelty and hate speech against black people. Our country was built with the blood of the black population. People were killed, tortured. A ‘slavery simulator’ is no joke.” Slavery was not abolished in Brazil until 1888. Over 4 million enslaved people were brought to Brazil throughout history. In 1822, 1.5 million of the country’s 3.5 million people were enslaved.

Google’s Brazilian office says in a statement to local media, including Folha de S. Paulo, that they “do not allow apps that promote violence or incite hatred against individuals or groups based on racial or ethnic origin, or that depict or promote gratuitous violence or other dangerous activities.” Anyone can report apps that violate the rules. There is a check prior to publication in the app store, but Google is not very clear to what extent the content of games is checked.

Magnus Games, the company behind the game called Simulador de Escravidão in Portuguese, has not yet commented on the matter. The description of the game included a caveat that the app was “made for entertainment purposes only,” it writes CNN Brazil. “Our studio condemns slavery in any form. All game content is fictional and not tied to specific historical events. All coincidences are coincidences.”

The Brazilian government has since launched an investigation into the matter. The developer will be held legally liable, the ministry said in a statement quoted by the national media on Thursday. “The Department of Racial Equality is committed to the elimination of racial inequalities. We fight against the spread of racist content on the internet, in football stadiums and in society in general,” the government said, referring to the racist attacks against Brazilian footballer Vinícius Júnior in Spain.