There are calls for Google to reassess its app submission policies as an anti-gay hunting game appeared on the Play Store yesterday and was downloaded 10s of thousands of times before it was withdrawn by the software giant.

Ass Hunter was an Android app version of a homophobic Flash in-browser game that has been online for several years. It allowed the player to shoot and kill naked gay men under the tag "watch out behind you".

Before it was taken down by Google, the game description read: "Popular game hunting on gays is now on android! Play and do not be gay!"

Its sick description also urged players to "kill gays as much as you can or escape between them to the next level".

"Remember," it continued. "When they catch you they will do with you whatever they want."

Speaking to Gay Star News, reader Michael Boudreau claimed that he and his friends had complained to Google, but the app wasn't taken down immediately. "There is absolutely no ambiguity about the homophobic intent of this game - this is a game for people who fantasize about killing gay people," he said.

Sadly, the game also got a significant amount of five star ratings before being removed.

What begs the question is why the app was so widely available in the first place? Google's own app submission guidelines state that apps that advocate "against groups of people based on their... sexual orientation/gender identity" are strictly forbidden.

Apple has also been faced with difficult questions on its app review process in the past, but in comparison drug-dealing game Weed Firm seems innocuous.