GOG apologizes for emailing people Nazi symbols
GOG apologized after a newsletter for The End of the Sun included symbols linked to the Nazi SS.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
GOG says a series of mistakes led a June 5 newsletter for The End of the Sun to include Slavic runes that some systems rendered in a way associated with Nazi symbols. The company says the German audience was excluded, but the explanation has still drawn confusion from users and the game’s developers.
GOG sent an email with special letters from a game, but on some screens they looked like a bad symbol linked to Nazis. It is like drawing a friendly smiley face, then the printer making it look like something else and causing trouble.
Analysis
GOG sent a promotional email for The End of the Sun, a fantasy game rooted in Slavic mythology and culture, and the newsletter included rune-like symbols meant to fit that setting. The company later apologized after the email drew attention for including shapes associated with the Nazi SS.
According to GOG, the problem came from a “series of mistakes.” The company pointed to miscommunication with the German QA team, inconsistent font rendering, and being understaffed during a bank holiday. One explanation given by GOG was that some platforms, including phones, displayed the rune Sowilō as a character that resembled the symbol in question.
The response became more complicated because a verified GOG representative also posted on Reddit that the overlap with Nazi imagery had been noticed before distribution, and that the material was not sent to the German community out of respect for local sensitivities. That raised obvious follow-up questions from users about why the newsletter went to other regions at all, and why the symbols were paired in the first place.
The game’s developers also said they were surprised by the newsletter treatment. In a Reddit thread, they said they did not know why GOG used symbols in its newsletter and were startled to see both the old logo and the symbols next to the title.
The story is less about the game itself than about how easily a marketing email can turn into a public relations problem when visual elements are poorly checked across fonts, platforms, and regions.
Key points
- GOG apologized after a newsletter for The End of the Sun included symbols linked to the Nazi SS.
- The company blamed a mix of miscommunication, font rendering issues, and being understaffed during a bank holiday.
- A GOG Reddit post said the German audience was excluded because the overlap with Nazi imagery had been noticed before distribution.
- The game’s developers said they were surprised by how GOG used the symbols in the newsletter.
- The incident raised questions about approval, localization, and quality control for marketing emails.
GOG can use the apology to tighten review steps for localized marketing and font testing. If it fixes the workflow, the company may reduce the chance of similar mistakes and reassure users and partners.
The mixed explanations could make the apology look inconsistent, which may weaken trust. If users think the company missed an obvious problem, the incident could keep hurting GOG’s reputation even after the correction.
