Guideline 1.1.2 - Safety: Realistic Violence or Encouragement of Violence

Apple is rejecting your app because it contains realistic portrayals of violence — people or animals being killed, maimed, tortured, or abused — or content that encourages violence. For games, this also covers enemies that solely target a specific race, culture, real government, corporation, or real entity. This rejection is most common in games with realistic graphics, but it can also hit news apps, educational apps, or social platforms that display graphic content. The key word is 'realistic' — stylized or cartoonish violence is generally acceptable, but photorealistic depictions cross the line. Apple differentiates between 'mature' content (which can be allowed with proper age rating) and content that is gratuitously violent or encourages real-world violence. If your game has realistic violence but an appropriate age rating, the issue may be specific scenes that go too far rather than the overall theme.