Apple rejects iOS game about war in Syria

Apple has rejected an iOS game aimed at raising awareness about the war in Syria, according to a statement provided to Polygon. Developer Auroch Digital explained that its Endgame: Syria was rejected because it violated a guideline that prohibits games that "solely target a specific race, culture, a real government or corporation, or any other real entity."

Endgame: Syria remains available on Android devices and through its official website. An Apple representative was not immediately available to comment.

"This decision is a shame really as it makes it hard to talk about the real world," developer Tomas Rawlings said in a statement. "Our aim is to use games as a format to bring news to a new audience and submission processes such as this do make it a lot harder for us. I get that Apple want to make sure really offensive titles don't pass into their store, but ours is far from that."

Rawlings further explained that the development team will make changes to the game and re-submit it to Apple. This is not without cost, though, as he claimed doing so means some of the game's context and meaning will be lost.

Developed in two weeks, Endgame: Syria has gamers exploring options available to the Syrian rebels. Each choice a user makes has consequences, and players can replay events to see how different choices would affect the final outcome.

Rawlings and his development squad have been creating games based on current events at GameTheNews.Net since October 2012. The team has produced titles based on such events like child labor in Uzbekistan, rhinoceros poaching in Africa, and the United States' presidential debates.