GOG, who is owned by CD Projekt RED (yes, they can’t do anything right at the moment) has decided to not list the controversial horror game ‘Devotion‘ on its storefront just hours after announcing it would release the game. According to GOG, the company claims that they received “any messages from gamers” and decided to not list the game on the store.
READ MORE
Resident Evil 8 Village Gameplay Videos Leak Online Containing Massive Spoilers
So why is Devotion so controversial? Well, for starters the game has been in the middle of a censorship drama since its release last year. Players who datamined the game found in-game content that referred to the president of China, Xi Jinping, as a “Winnie-the-Pooh moron”. Previously, the president has banned the popular children’s cartoon in China due to the comparisons between him and the bear. Soon after the in-game content was found, players review-bombed the game and it was removed from Steam.
Fast forward a year and the Taiwanese game developer Red Candle Games has issued multiple apologies claiming that the items were a mistake. They also outright took the blame for the controversy saying that they failed their fans. Red Candle Games then struggled to find a place to release Devotion as all storefronts refused to publish the game in fear of backlash.
The news that GOG was going to release the game came as a surprise to many. However, just hours after the announcement, the marketplace then backtracked on the news. According to GOG, they received many messages from gamers and decided to not list the game in the store. Many find that hard to believe with gamers accusing GOG of siding with their Chinese investors. In addition, GOG is a large marketplace for games in China. Should the government deny their presence in the country, the company will suffer a major loss.
Earlier today, it was announced that the game Devotion is coming to GOG. After receiving many messages from gamers, we have decided not to list the game in our store.
— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) December 16, 2020
CD Projekt RED can’t seem to stay out of the news lately especially when it comes to controversy. Cyberpunk 2077 released last week to some nasty backlash from fans due to its overwhelming number of bugs and performance issues. The developer since released a statement saying that gamers can request refunds for the game. However, this was said without any agreement with Sony and Microsoft. Thus, the two companies have been rejecting refunds.
