Flamethrower in Call of Duty: WWII
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Sledgehammer grapples with playing the Germans in Call of Duty: WWII

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 2 min

Slegehammer Games announced its Call of Duty: WWII first-person shooter today, and it acknowledged that in multiplayer combat, players will be able to fight as German soldiers. That’s a move that could stir some controversy, but Sledgehammer said it is trying to handle the topic in as respectful a way as it can.

In World War II games, such uncomfortable questions always come up, and they underscore how games based on serious historical subjects can be particularly touchy.

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.