Going on its tenth year, Clash of Clans is arguably one of the longest-running success stories of mobile gaming. The game thrived in what is possibly the most hostile and ever-changing market environment in technological history. It’s success is, obviously in no small part, thanks to it’s ability to appeal to a worldwide audience. Players all over the world were more than happy to spend in-game gold to purchase decorations, and this included flags. However, the latest update seems to removed flags from the majority of their selection. So, the next question is obvious: Why are they gone?
Why Did Clash of Clans Remove Flags?
Firstly, Clash of Clans didn’t necessarily remove all of its flags. It seems to have only been the real world National Flags that were removed. According to the game’s latest release notes:
The Clash Universe is a fantasy realm with a cast of wild, zany, and often humorous characters. And while some things in Clash may draw ideas from various inspirations, we want to keep the Clash Universe separate from real life references.
All national flags are now removed from Clash of Clans. Any flags that have been purchased have been refunded.
Fictional flags still remain in the game.
Prior to this announcement, players could purchase one of twenty-five different National Flags to use as a base decoration for 100,000 in-game gold.
The list of flags are as follows:
- United States
- Canada
- Italy
- Germany
- Finland
- France
- Spain
- United Kingdom
- Brazil
- Sweden
- China
- Greece
- Denmark
- Russia
- Singapore
- Philippines
- Netherlands
- Indonesia
- Turkey
- Japan
- South Korea
- Australia
- India
- Thailand
- Norway
Supercell is likely the only entity to know the exact reasoning as to this sudden and seemingly benign change. While the developers state the desire to keep their game separate from real world references, one can only speculate what brought about this sudden desire to remove flags that have been part of the game for several years without issue. Until we hear anything else, the fictional flags will have to suffice.
