Bungie Removing Destiny 2 Gauntlets Sporting White Supremacist Logo

Bungie is taking quick action regarding a piece of armor in Destiny 2 after some players recognized a design on it that closely resembled a white supremacist symbol.

The piece or armor that’s been circulating via Twitter recently might’ve easily slipped by players who weren’t paying close attention to the design, but it didn’t escape the notice of those who brought it to Bungie’s attention. It might not be as openly recognizable as a swastika, but the origins of the symbol and the way that it’s been used recently make it difficult to ignore the inclusion of it in the game.

After noticing players’ complaints about the items, Bungie definitely seems to have only one course of action they can take, and that’s removing the design from the game.

The Offensive Symbol

Above is the offensive symbol in question, a design that many who are versed in Internet slang will recognize as “KEK.”

While the lingo isn’t uncommon by any means in online games or Twitch streams, the way that it’s drawn here on the gauntlets take it a bit further. Instead of using a normal “E” in the middle, the letter is segmented in a way that makes it pretty difficult to shake off the similarities to a certain white supremacist symbol that’s become known as the Kekistan banner.

It’s easy to think that some players might be looking into the design too much – the accusations were clearly there in replies to Bungie’s tweets – but when you see the design on the offensive banner, the evidence is pretty damning.

The Kekistan Banner

The Kekistan banner is a symbol that’s begun appearing more recently than others, a logo that combines Internet culture with white supremacy and a desire to offend others.

Much like Pepe the Frog, the seemingly innocent meme has been adopted for a completely different purpose. The photo shown above was taken during an alt-right rally in Berkeley, Calif., the full image seen here that shows the banner being worn like a cape as the wearer masks himself to conceal his identity.

Originating from depths of the Internet such as 4chan, “Kekistan” came to life in a design that incorporates both the online phrase and the design of a Nazi flag to create a symbol that looks a whole lot like the one shown on the armor in Destiny 2.

Bungie’s Response

In response to the apparent white supremacist symbol in the game, Bungie was pretty quick to take action on the offensive armor by stating that they’d be removing it from the game.

During their apology tweet, they also stressed that it was absolutely unintentional, stating that it doesn’t reflect their own views in any way.

As Bungie stated, it clearly wasn’t a deliberate move on their part, but the design is too close to the Kekistan flag to be completely unrelated. Whether someone saw the design somewhere and forgot where they’d seen it or purposefully put it in the game, the design definitely looks inspired by the hate symbol.

Players’ Responses

Most controversies similar to this one are usually split between one side calling for action against the offense and others talking down the outcry as people being overly sensitive, and the discussion about this symbol seems to be no exception.

Plenty of players in the replies to Bungie’s tweet hadn’t even noticed the gauntlets in the game yet, but after they saw the two images side-by-side and compared them, many quickly sided with the reasoning that it should probably be removed. Others regarded the decision to remove it as ridiculous, saying that Bungie was giving in to players’ “sensitive” demands.

What Do You Think?