Horror Game Devotion Gets Pulled From GOG Before Release
Horror game Devotion has been pulled from GOG, mere hours after it was announced that it would release on the platform this week.
Taiwanese developer Red Candle Games first tweeted that the game was to be released on December 18, but GOG later tweeted that it had decided to not list the game “after receiving many messages from gamers”. GOG did not elaborate on its explanation.
In response, Red Candle Games issued a statement calling the situation “regretful”, but also said said that it was “willing to understand and respect GOG’s decision”. “For the players looking forward to Devotion’s re-release, please accept our most sincere apology. This is a difficult predicament to overcome, but we won’t stop striving,” the studio said.
GOG’s reversal of its decision to allow Devotion on its platform marks another blow for the game. In 2019, it was pulled from Steam by the developers after a Winnie the Pooh reference that mocked Chinese president Xi Jinping was discovered, leading to review-bombing by Chinese players, the revocation of publisher Indievent’s business license in China, and the game’s preservation by Harvard.
Red Candle Games’ previous horror title Detention, set in 1960s Taiwan during the White Terror period, is still available on Steam. A Taiwanese movie adaptation was released in 2019, while a Netflix series adaptation was released this year.