OUTRAGEOUS

Google Pulls Slavery Simulator Game from Play Store in Brazil

The “game” allowed users to buy and sell Black characters.

A cellphone game allowing people to buy and sell—and even torture—enslaved Black people has reportedly caused outrage in Brazil. The game, Simulador de Escravidão or Slavery Simulator, was taken down from the Google Play Store on Wednesday but had already been downloaded by more than a thousand people—who can continue using it. The game had received positive reviews, according to The Guardian, although one user said it needed “more torture options.” Activists are demanding action about its developer, identified as Magnus Games, and Google. “Racism is not entertainment, it’s a crime!” a group of Black city councilors from São Paulo said. The Guardian notes that racism is an enduring issue in Brazil, which took in more enslaved Africans than any other country in the Americas and did not abolish slavery until 1888.