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Apple rejects The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth for “depicting violence towards children”

by on February 8, 2016
 

Apple have rejected Nicalis’ application to release The Binding of Isaac on iOS devices, explaining that they do not allow games which “depict violence towards, or abuse of, children”.

VG24/7 reports that while other titles such as Limbo depict violence against children in a more stylised way, The Binding of Isaac main premise is that you take control of an abused child, locked in the basement by his mother. It could be argued that there is no real depiction of child abuse in-game, as the vast majority of gameplay is dungeon-crawling and fighting wacky enemies.

The game has been ported on a wide variety of consoles, including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS Vita and even Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo originally rejected the game for breaching its policy on religious overtones, but the verdict was overturned reports Kotaku.

Nicalis’ founder Tyrone Rodriguez started the rejection notice on Twitter, with the caption ““C’mon, wtf… Apple”.

It is unclear whether Rodriguez will contest the decision, as he can formally appeal it through App Store developer safeguards.