Bungie Removing 'Unintentional' Anti-Semitic Slogan from Destiny 2
Weekly Challenges in Destiny 2 aren't usually as eventful as the latest one has been for reasons other than its gameplay. Bungie is embroiled in a bit of drama this week thanks to a short-lived Destiny 2 slogan that has been tied to the Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany.
Despite some disappointment in Destiny 2's kinetic weapons introduced by the latest expansion, Season of the Chosen has been met with mostly positive comments. However, that doesn't mean everything is going swimmingly. When some gamers found a slogan pop up, however briefly it did appear, there were comments made about its background. Now Bungie is taking action and apologizing for what it's calling a significant oversight.
The name of one of Destiny 2's weekly challenges is "Blood and Honor," which has been seen in fantasy media before but it's also the English translation of “Blut und Ehre,” which was a Nazi slogan used by the Hitler Youth. That means that as Bungie was talking about a studio expansion, it also had to discuss this phrase in Destiny 2. The company said in a statement to Kotaku that it's working to remove the phrase and any other "anti-semitic" words from the game in an upcoming patch. The developer also said any reference to Nazism was entirely unintentional.
The phrase isn't one that pops up often, but it did show itself long enough for Destiny 2 users to notice and point it out to Bungie. It's possible that if someone didn't know about the phrase, they might think it's something that would seem to fit in with the Season of the Chosen theme. The expansion involves fighting against a militant alien race called the Cabal, which is obsessed with things like honor and drawing the blood of its enemies.
However, some Destiny 2 users are aware of the phrase's meaning and posted about it on social media. Others pointed out that Blood and Honor isn't even something that has been left in the past when it comes to Nazi theology. The phrase is also the name of a British organization with offshoots in the United States that is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Because Blood and Honor is part of the weekly challenges this season in Destiny 2, it's likely the offending language will get removed soon. However, Bungie did not say when the patch will release as it thanked its community for bringing the issue to its attention.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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