GOG apologizes for emailing Nazi runes to its followers
GOG, the digital game retailer owned by CD Projekt, has apologized after sending a newsletter featuring Nazi symbols in its subject line. The email, promoting a “Slavic adventure,” included a Sonnenrad (sun wheel), a kolovrat, and the double Siegrune—the distinctive emblem of the SS. These are unmistakable Nazi hate symbols, not abstract designs that could be misinterpreted or mistaken for something else.
The incident represents a significant failure that GOG has acknowledged, offering an apology for the “unfortunate visual association.” However, the company has provided limited explanation of how these symbols came to be included in an official communication sent to its entire customer base. The appearance of such distinctive hate symbols in a major brand’s newsletter extends far beyond a minor error, raising serious questions about the oversight and content moderation processes that allowed the email to be sent.
This incident has drawn criticism from observers noting that such a failure represents a fundamental breakdown in brand safety and editorial control. The inclusion of Nazi imagery in promotional communications is not an ambiguous mistake or a matter of interpretation—these symbols are deliberately chosen emblems of a genocidal regime, making their appearance in commercial communications particularly egregious.