If you play Forza Horizon or Forza MotorsportYou have some freedom to customize the cars in the game, even adding your own custom designs. A popular example: Gamers have used the feature to recreate the General Lee, 1969 1969 Dodge Charger. The dukes of hazzard, in almost all Forza games since at least 2007. But General Lee has the controversial Confederate flag on his back, and Microsoft has just announced that it will ban players from using that symbol (among others) in the game.
In a statement posted to Twitter last Friday, Microsoft updated its compliance guidelines to have a zero tolerance policy for any player who uses the Confederate flag or other symbols that represent “notorious iconography”, including Nazi images and the rising sun, which may be a Symbol of Japanese imperialism. Microsoft will not automatically ban players from creating designs with these controversial images; instead, the original designer must be informed when submitting a ticket.
While some players have noted the ban, it has not yet prompted a significant reaction. Also, if you want to turn your 1969 Dodge Charger into a General Lee, you don’t need a flag to do it. (Also, here is the “General Bee”). Even General Lee’s car in real life no longer uses the Confederate flag; Owner and pro golf player Bubba Watson says he retired them in 2015.
In recent weeks, debates around the modern display of the Confederate flag have resurfaced amid protests in the United States against systemic racism. Various institutions, which previously allowed displays of the flag, including the U.S. Marine Corps and NASCAR, have banned the flag and its representations entirely, while lawmakers in Mississippi voted Monday to remove the emblem from your state flag.
