Delisted Horror Game Devotion Added to GOG... Then GOG Decides Not to Release It

Update 12/17/2020: Devotion developer Red Candle Games has responded to GOG's U-turn on releasing its game. Speaking on Twitter, the studio said: "Though regretful but [sic] we are 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."

pic.twitter.com/SKI3SeW18s

— redcandlegames (@redcandlegames) December 17, 2020

Currently, there is no planned release for the horror game, which caused controversy among Chinese players for an apparent joke at the expense of Chinese president Xi Jinping. GOG and parent company CD Projekt have not responded to IGN's request for comment since yesterday's decision to announce and then pull the game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Update: GOG has now said that it will not list Devotion after "receiving many messages from gamers". GOG announced the news in a tweet, and has already pulled the game's new store page. No further explanation has been given at time of writing.

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

With hundreds of replies already, reactions to the announcement tweet (above) have been broadly negative, with many assuming that GOG is bowing to political pressure, given the alleged Chinese government reaction that saw Devotion delisted from Steam last year. It marks another controversial moment in a turbulent week for GOG owner CD Projekt, which has also been scrambling to explain an increasingly difficult launch for Cyberpunk 2077. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Cult horror game Devotion will be re-released on PC later this month via the GOG distribution platform, after being delisted in February 2019. Developer Red Candle Games revealed the news on Twitter. The tweet notes that all of the game's content will remain the same, as will the price. Devotion will cost $16.99/€13.99 when it launches on December 18 on GOG.

Hello friends, we want to share with you– Red Candle will publish #還願Devotion on Dec 18 on GOG.https://t.co/dlC6qzBiHx

The content and the price of the re-release remains the same, for $16.99 / €13.99 Thank you for your trust and support. We wish you a happy end of the year pic.twitter.com/peVPd7cyVo — redcandlegames (@redcandlegames) December 16, 2020

It's suggested that the game may have been originally delisted in February 2019 due to controversy surrounding the inclusion of a poster that contained the phrase "Xi Jinping Winnie-the-Pooh moron," referencing Chinese President Xi Jinping, and censored memes that compare him to the Disney character. The Taiwanese developer issued a statement in July of 2019 apologizing for the asset's inclusion, noting that it would not be re-releasing the game "in the near term." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/02/26/devotion-review"] We reviewed Devotion upon its original launch in 2019, scoring it an 8.2 and calling it an "excellent psychological horror game full of surreal imagery." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.