Taiwan, Tibet, Tiananmen: how to get your video game banned in China for political reasons
- A Taiwanese horror game was recently banned in China for linking Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh
- Games developers around the world have in the past fallen for more obvious political minefields
When it comes to politics, Chinese censors will not appreciate even the slightest out-of-the box thinking by content creators. A Taiwanese games maker just learned that lesson the hard way.
Indie studio Red Candle saw its hit horror game Devotion disappear from China’s internet over the past weekend, after players reported a hidden in-game message linking Chinese president Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh. The comparison originated from internet memes that are banned in China.
Red Candle issued an apology and removed the reference in an updated version of Devotion. But that didn’t help bring the title back to the world’s biggest gaming market, where players bombed it with bad reviews on PC games distribution platform Steam.
Aside from Winnie the Pooh, there are more obvious political minefields games developers should definitely avoid if they want to cash in on China. Here are some cautionary tales.
Football Manager 2005
2005 is one of the best editions of the Football Manager series, where as an armchair coach you get to create your dream squad with top players like Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho at their peak.
