Doom and Doom 2 de-indexed in Germany

The original Doom games are to be released for general sale in Germany, a good 17 years after being indexed.

German law allows for publishers to appeal indexing decisions after a period of ten years has passed; Bethesda decided to give it a shot after acquiring id Software in 2009.

As a result, both games have been reclassified as USK 16+.

"We are obviously very pleased with their decision. Can't give you details yet on when they will be available in Germany. We'll let everyone know as soon as we know," Bethesda's Pete Hines told Joystiq.

Doom is considered one of the most important early shooters, and its horror atmosphere and gore were considered unusually confronting at time of release in 1993.

In Germany, games which are indexed are in the same legal category as pornography, and as such, cannot be sold in general retailers - or even by mail.

German authorities are making some interesting decisions of late; Gears of War 3 was recently confirmed for uncut mainstream release in the country, despite both previous titles being indexed.

Thanks, GameInformer.