After pulling Taiwanese horror game Devotion from sale in 2020, GOG say they find their decision "difficult to reflect on"

Though I don't wholly bargain it

Soon aft it launched successful 2019, Taiwanese fearfulness crippled Devotion was pulled from merchantability pursuing immoderate contention regarding Chinese president Xi Jinping and Winnie The Pooh (long story). It was made disposable for acquisition again a mates of years later, though it should person been a interaction earlier than that arsenic it was promised to beryllium released connected GOG precocious 2020. However, connected the aforesaid time it was announced to beryllium returning, GOG enactment retired a connection saying they wouldn't beryllium releasing it aft all. Now, fractional a decennary connected from that, managing manager Maciej Gołębiewski reflects connected the determination to not enactment it up for sale, aft it stood by selling the besides arguable Horses.

"That concern remains hard to bespeak on," Gołębiewski told Eurogamer successful an interview. "At the time, we made that determination successful the discourse of precise existent concern constraints, a constricted knowing of the analyzable geopolitical factors astatine play, and a deficiency of bully options that would some support GOG and partners and let the crippled to beryllium released responsibly. In hindsight, we admit that this determination - and the mode we communicated it - understandably damaged the spot our users person successful us."

Gołębiewski went connected to accidental that successful bid to support a "global integer storefront operating means navigating legal, operational, and commercialized realities that don't ever let for perfect outcomes. In 2020, we chose a way we believed was champion for GOG, adjacent though it came astatine a outgo to our credibility."

When it comes to a crippled similar Horses, which was banned from merchantability connected Steam supposedly implicit an outdated scene, helium feels that the concern was different, saying that its merchantability connected GOG didn't airs immoderate "legal, political, oregon operational hazard to our concern oregon partners. There was nary different interest driving this decision, conscionable a straightforward valuation of the crippled itself."

I americium not wholly convinced by his reasoning, I person to say. GOG explained that they were pulling Devotion from merchantability astatine the clip similar so: "After receiving galore messages from gamers, we person decided not to database the crippled successful our store." Of course, this mightiness person conscionable been the nationalist crushed presented astatine the time, and Gołębiewski is present telling the existent mentation of events, but I find it a spot pugnacious to judge that they hadn't considered the imaginable concern and geopolitical factors up to that constituent (the crippled was astir 2 years aged by this point). Still, amended to person astatine slightest 1 storefront that willingly releases games with hard themes occasionally than not astatine all, I suppose.