kohlrak: But the way china rules, with it's information warfare, even if it came from the people, it still came from the government. They're trained and encouraged to be the government's advocates, even in your scenario written above. They compete to virtue signal, which surely comes from a government policy.
Turbo-Beaver: In principle you're right but it's slightly more complicated. There're rabid jingoistic mobs acting autonomously, always on patrol for all kinds of reasons to start some campaign to criticize, cancel or boycott someone, and foreign brands in particular are always fair game. To the extent that I'm aware, it usually doesn't have to be government-instigated, most of the time they come up with something on their own and support it out of conviction. It perhaps helps that this is one of the few forms of public expression generally permitted.
These people don't just pop out of nowhere of course: they're the product of the education/indoctrination system based on the principles of siege mentality, celebration of victimhood, as well as other assorted grievances, and cultivated through manipulated news narratives. So in a way the political leadership is responsible for all this, just not directly: they plant the seeds and see how things go from there. These people's voices will then either be amplified if what they started could be useful towards some political end (e.g. blaming some foreign business from a country the government wants to put pressure on), or they can get completely muted if the discussion strays towards any inconvenient topics (never question the Party, etc.).
By no means everyone in China is a member of the said group. Most people just want to get by, work hard for a better life, stay out of all this. A lot of Chinese are also very cynical of their political system and ruling class (but the same people are usually well-aware of the political deficiencies in the West either, and they might still be nationalist/ethnocentric). However, if your views are different than the officially-approved narrative, it's best to keep them to yourself. So it's easy to miss the "silent majority" and get the impression that everyone is as described above. And that is exactly what the Party would like you to believe.
Anyway, the bottom line is: I would have never expected an announcement of this game on Chinese social media to be met with any other reaction. Nobody who knows anything about China would. Neither should have GOG. If they run social media accounts in China they should have been well aware they're walking a thin line. This self-inflicted damage could have been easily avoided. But now it's too late, and GOG through their own ineptitude put themselves in a position where they had to choose sides. They clearly made their choice, and now you have to make yours: are you OK with that? I'm not.
The problem with "it's complicated" is that it often ends up being an excuse for apathy. I get that something's not easy, but if it's the right thing to do, that makes it all the more valuable to do it. Frankly, the point is that China's too big for it's britches, so it needs knocked off it's high horse. The emperor is waltzing around naked. Trying to say X can't do anything, because X would be alone in the battle is basically helping the crocodile eat your friends (customers) hoping that he eats you last (and either way, you're going in the belly).
As for the Chinese, i know it's not a hive mind. I just want this clown to claim it is, so he discredits himself. There's pride in him, pride to the degree that i believe he's being dishonest because his pride is the most important thing to him. This is the thing about the CCP, it's how SARS-CoV(-1) got out of control, it's how SARS-CoV-2 got out of control, and it's how their country consistently becomes it's own parody when being trolled (which apparently isn't often enough).
GamezRanker: I believe that user meant "the more left leaning pc culture minded types" on social media.
SumofOne: Exactly what i meant. This excessive political correct people checking everything with diversity points etc are a small minority. Most people dislike this shit and just want to enjoy their entertainment and yet in Twitter etc their circle jerk is promoted in a way that makes them appear like they are more than they are when in reality they would be laughed out of the room.
I have no idea were Muslims came to him. Muslims were no part of any of my thoughts in the least.
Another example of the same thing. Games allude to politics metaphorically so that you can understand the ideas without the cognitive dissonance by being too close to the situation described. The silent majority, too, is another problem: people need to not be afraid to voice their feelings. The average person who hates the social justice shit is keeping their mouth shut because they're afraid of getting mobbed and no one coming to their rescue. It's not unlike the kinds of argumentation we're seeing for GOG capitulating: we have a big bully, and we have people kissing the bully's feet, because no one wants to be the first to stand against the bully and inform him what he can do alone with himself. The thing is, the bully eventually gets bored with only his feet getting kissed, and might want your lunch money, or more. When do you finally draw the line, or do you not? Everyone always seems to have this "line in the sand" where they're sure they and everyone else will join them "if things get that bad," but it never actually manifests. I mean, common, look at the last election in the US.