HELL — Alleged fans of the popular turn-based strategy game series “Civilization” have organized a campaign to boycott the next installment unless Adolph Hitler is added as a playable leader.
The movement started Friday when a new trailer for Civilization VII was posted by the @FiraxisGames account on X, the everything app, which received hundreds of replies and quote retweets containing the hashtag #FreeGermany.
“dont buy this cultural erasure #FreeGermany GAMERS DESERVE BETTER!!! give us the real guy! they/thems are ruining my Civ by ignoring history and pandering to the irrelevant fake fans. Sid Meier is turning in his grave!! AND WHO THE FUCK IS BISMARCK?” asked verified user @Steven1488 to his thirty followers.
A “Free Germany” petition on change.org amassed nearly 4000 signatures over the weekend, calling for support to modify the game’s roster:
“Civilization is a cornerstone gaming franchise but it has been corrupted by woke activists who infiltrated the media industry. The trailer reveals their DEI agenda: there are dozens of ethnic leaders — this is intolerable, and we demand our own representation in a leader who wants to eradicate them all. And until we get our way, we the undersigned agree to not buy this game unless it reviews really well.”
The petition was started by self-proclaimed game developer Eric “Bummz” Jones who explained his motivations in a podcast.
“I had to do something! I couldn’t keep developing my own game, the sin of a historically inaccurate Civilization was too distracting. My backers understand how important this is and they’ve already waited a decade so won’t mind another hiatus while I focus on harassing real devs again.” Bummz’s VTube avatar later addressed criticisms from the livestream chat. “I’m not just chasing clout, I also want to punish minorities, too. And to make sure everyone knows we’re serious I will personally go to Kinko’s, print every petition signature, and send them to a very confused secretary.”
At press time, Firaxis agreed to include Hitler as a leader as long as his players kill themselves when they lose.
