'The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth' Rejected by Apple
It looks like fans of "The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth" won't be playing the title on their iOS devices anytime soon. The game has been blocked from Apple's App store for containing objectionable content.
Tyrone Rodriguez, founder of Nicalis that publishes "The Binding of Isaac," shared the news on Twitter. The image attached to the tweet contains Apple's rejection notice that reads:
"Your app contains content or features that depict violence towards, or abuse of, children, which is not allowed on the App."
Eurogamer notes that Nicalis has not announced an iOS version of the game, although "The Binding of Isaac" creator Edmund McMillen said three years ago how they are considering an iOS version "if it's not garbage." Kotaku also reports that Rodriguez has been tweeting teaser images of "The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth" running on iPad and iPhone a couple of weeks prior to receiving Apple's rejection notice.
Neither Rodriguez nor McMillen has not revealed their plans moving forward, although McMillen has expressed his disappointment about the issue.
"It's very obvious that Apple doesn't think games are art or have any respect for the medium," McMillen told GamesBeat. "It's sad and very ignorant of them to stand by such a stupid and laughable statement. They basically just told every game developer out there that video games are kids toys with no artistic merit."
The original "The Binding of Isaac" was rejected by Nintendo on the grounds of containing "questionable religious content." However, that issue was sorted out and the game was released to the 3DS.
"The Binding of Isaac" is based on the Biblical story of Isaac, whose father Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his son to prove his faith. Basically of the same plot but replacing the father with a mother, promotional materials of the dungeon crawler often depict a curled up, crying child taunted by monsters on all sides.
"The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth" was released to Sony's PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in 2014.