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Red Candle Games, the Taiwanese studio whose first-person horror game Devotion was not available for purchase following a controversy over a reference to Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, has listed its games for sale on its own online store. Devotion and the studio’s first game Detention are available for purchase now DRM-free.
Devotion was pulled from Steam shortly after its launch in February 2019. The game was praised by critics for its feel and originality, but sparked controversy and negative reviews from users after users noticed a poster in the game that said, roughly, “Xi Jinping Winnie-the-Pooh moron. Xi is commonly compared to Winnie the Pooh in online memes, which often meet the wrath of Chinese online censors.
At the time, Red Candle Games said it was removing Devotion for technical and quality assurance reasons, and we would “revise our game material again to ensure that no other unwanted material is inserted.” The game never returned to Steam and Red Candle Games later apologized for its “serious artistic clerical error.”
Devotion attracted further controversy in December 2020 when CD Projekt Red’s showcase GOG withdrew from a deal to sell the game hours after it was announced. “After receiving numerous messages from players, we have decided not to list the game in our store,” read a statement from the store. “It’s a tough situation to get over, but we won’t stop fighting,” Red Candle Games said in response.
With the developer selling now Devotion for PC and Mac on its own terms, the availability of the game should be assured for the time being. “We hope to provide a direct and easy purchasing channel for players who are interested in our games,” the studio said in a Tweeter. It is not immediately clear whether the Xi reference has been removed.
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