Of course. That's the thing with a country that has freedom of speech and one that doesn't. If I make a game critical of America or the US government, I can't be banned due to the 1st Amendment and can still do business. If I do the same with China, they can outright ban me entirely from the market.

So companies have to bend the knee in order to keep that revenue stream open. The only way to combat that is to make doing business with China more ruinous.

And that requires Western governments to enact things like tariffs and other such things.

Spoiler: The reference was patched out a bit before the game's removal on Steam. It didn't help one bit.

Bring Devotion back!

Thankfully we had a blue moon this year and with that CDPR have chosen to listen to the community for once, but it was put through google translate too many times, what they heard instead was bring devotion to the CCP.

Horrible call on removing the game. This company cares more about money then having integrity. What a fucking joke. You can start puting on the clown makeup if you are going to play the part.

I couldn't care less what they think at this point, especially given that many Chinese people are fed up with this and only are able to speak about it in private due to suffering consequences if they go public.

Anything that helps topple the Chinese regime faster is a good thing.

I too hate communism, so you have my back.

I just discovered this news by watching a youtube video: Are you serious CDPR? Like for real? I did started to use GoG and buy your games directly from you on your platform because I wanted to change game industry for better not to bow before Chinase goverment because some snowflake Xi Jinping Winnie the Pooh!!! I want answers. I stopped playing Activision-Blizzard games for censoring for China sake!!! Do you seriously planning to go that route?!!!

hahaha true that, which is why i get banned from everything, kinda refreshing gog hasnt bsnned me for doing that.

Yep cause im sure you can claim rightiousness. You are using Chinese slave labor for something. Just pumping gas isnt moral in the slightest. The way it is obtained and Americans domination of it is a crime agaisnt integity.

There's a difference in needing necessities to survive in capitalism and bowing to a dictatorship for more profit for you and your actionists. To buy everything or at least most stuff from ethical sources as a private is a privilege. To actively accept political pressure to censorship on a game (that is not even a basic need) for more profit is different from knowing that the people picking your tomatoes or making your phone are underpaid, because those are the only ones you can afford to make ends meet at the end of the month. There's no ethical consumption under capitalism and yadda yadda. But again, I was disillusioned about GOG already and I see how gullible I have been in thinking that there were values here and it was somehow "more than just a business". This is the game industry. I am undecided now about boycotting GOG, as I was gullible enough to develop an attachment to a brand, but it's something one can do without consequences, compared to giving up to cheaper necessities living in a faulted system. So I see a difference between me knowing that I need a cheap jacket to go through the winter or new shoes without holes and purchasing entertainment. And a difference with the choices of a big business. Also, I honestly don't have much purchase power for entertainment and I just drop the occasional 2,3 euros during sales once in a while, so I know that me boycotting is not a big deal, but it would be based on principle and summing up with other people. On the other hand, it's the DRM.free platform that I don't feel ready to leave yet and don't really see an alternative to, despite all of its problems. But I would like them to be accountable of their beheaviour.

GOG's response was odd to me, they changed their mind after receiving lots of emails from gamers. Does GOG or even CDPR really have that many customers in China, enough to change their mind? Or is it the shareholders of the company that put the pressure on. To me GOG/CDPR stopped being the "rebel platform/company" the minute they went public.

Putting political messages in this way, into games that are not aimed at being political games feels pointless to me, it doesn't do the game any favour, it doesn't add anything of value as a gamer. (for me at least). So I question the developer's choice in this. The Saint's Row and GTA games in contrast, are the Mel Brooks of video games, I expect quite a few political punts because these games make fun of almost everything.

I just wanted to voice support for Devotion here, for what it's worth. I don't buy a lot of games, but I've historically only used Gog because I despise DRM. I was actually seriously considering buying a new computer just to play Cyberpunk (my computers are all low-end Linux-based).

I cannot in good conscience support a company that engages in political censorship (whether it's a message I agree with or not), so I will not be buying any games from Gog at all for the foreseeable future.

----

Yeah GOG is really making a dumb move here. They don't have a forum, and only(afaik) take paypal atm, but they have some good games there & they're all DRM free.

Release this game you cowards!!!