No.

Tasteless, GOG, tasteless.

Also shows their rules are likely mostly for good PR....as we cannot talk about these issues, BUT we CAN buy games based on them it seems.

*sigh*
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(Sidenote: Hmm, maybe I will just talk about the "covid game" in my covid thread from now on)

Guys, there are thousands of people dying of COVID-19 every day right now and millions of people face financial ruin due to the economic repercussions. I'd ask if you think this is a game but obviously that would be completely redundant because you clearly do. That is in extremely poor taste, donations notwithstanding.

Where is curation when you need it?

A rushed-out game about an ongoing disaster that has already killed hundreds of thousands and done permanent damage to many more? What could possibly go wrong?

As a thing to note, it appears to be a game about *curing* a pandemic, as opposed to many other pandemic-related games about spreading a disease.

Though they're also appearing to market it a bit like edutainment. I'm not sure if edutainment has a place on GOG.

And 30% to GOG, so they make 50% of total sales. So 20% for them is actually 29% of their sales. They still keep the lion's share.

Oh and it has a paid DLC soundtrack too, and achievements!

Totally a legit game release and not at all a reprehensible cash in on a current crisis.

Wonder how long the backlash will go on for until staff and moderators make the decision to lock a release thread...

Sorry Guys and Gals of GoG, but this is a really bad move, and is going to burn up a lot of the good will and possitive media coverage you've just got.

Really shocked this got past your Quality Control.

shame on you GOG

Ahm.... No. Just no.

If they lock this thread it's gonna make them look even worse this time.

The pandemic isn't even over. This just seems in poor taste.

Here's what developer has to say:

"Thanks for posting your thoughts, however, we would like to explain that COVID: The Outbreak is an educational strategy game that should raise the awareness of what is really going on with the virus and how one can protect himself from its reach.

We are donating 20% of all our Steam games sales through May-June to help support the development of a vaccine and we believe it is a worthy goal during this ongoing pandemic.

Naturally, we respect your opinion and we hope you will give us a chance come launch day."

"We respect your opinion, but we believe you are judging a book by its cover. We are raising awareness on how people should behave during a pandemic as well as showing how a virus mutates and how quickly it can spread. However, it is totally fine if you disagree with our notion, you have that right. By donating 20% of all games we want to help out as much as we can during this crisis and there are companies running ads on the virus, making a substantial profit, but they never give back.

Creating meaningful experiences via games is our job and it is a business after all - but we have chosen to share our revenue from this game to aid the world in developing a vaccine, so we can all go back living our normal lives again. If giving tips based on WHO, educating people on how a virus operates while still giving the enjoyment that comes with a strategy game, and donating money towards a vaccine so we can aid the world, is considered to be lame - then so be it, as we believe that doing some good is better than doing nothing at all."