Seventeen years after being banned in the country, iconic first-person shooter Doom and its sequel are to be made available for sale in Germany.

The nation is well known for coming down hard on games that feature gore and violence, and the country’s stringent rules have caused countless games — including Left 4 Dead 2, Dead Rising and The Darkness — to be banned or reworked to be blood-free.

The same goes for id software’s demon-blaster Doom. The game’s violence, gore and satanic imagery caused plenty of controversy around the world (especially once it was revealed that the kids behind the Columbine High School massacre were avid players), and it was “indexed” in Germany.

Indexed games are put in the same legal category as pornography, so German citizens over 18 can own the games, but they can’t be sold in general retailers, by post or over the internet. Gamers in Germany have often relied on importing the games from overseas to avoid the bans and the blood-free editions.

German law states that companies can appeal the ban after a period of 10 years has passed. So when Bethesda — publisher of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games — acquired id Software in 2009, it decided to give the appeal a shot.

It was successful, and the ban has been lifted. Doom and Doom 2 are now classified as USK-16.

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

Germany’s classification board recently surprised developer Epic Games. Despite indexing ultra-gory, alien-chainsawing-sim Gears of War and Gears of War 2, the third game in the Gears of War trilogy has dodged the ban hammer and will go on sale with an 18 rating.