Red Candle Games has issued an update on the controversy surrounding Devotion, and things are not promising for the game on Steam.
The Taiwanese studio removed their game from Steam after references to an internet meme critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping were allegedly discovered in it. Now, a post on the Red Candle Twitter account — the studio’s first public statement since February — is offering an apology for the original incident and the knock-on effect it’s had on the company’s business partners and fans.
The statement in the tweet reasserts the studio’s position that the offending message was included in error, not as a deliberate act of provocation. It goes on to explain that, as a result of this incident, Devotion will remain unavailable for purchase in the near future. Red Candle is not completely ruling out Devotion returning to Steam one day, but will only do so if “the public would be willing to view this game rationally and allow us the opportunity to rebuild trust with players.”
Greetings, we are Red Candle Games from Taiwan. To all of our players, industry and media friends, we would like to provide an update on ‘Devotion’. pic.twitter.com/wfGTUbHtHx
— redcandlegames (@redcandlegames) July 15, 2019
The statement also makes several references to the hardships of the studio’s unnamed “partner.” These are presumably references to Indievent, the China-based publisher that lost its business license earlier this month. Through this statement the studio is apparently hoping to absolve Indivent of any wrongdoing, asserting, “As the game’s sole publisher, Red Candle is inexcusable for this incident. We hope that our partner and related parties may be excused from further criticism.”
Although the situation is far from resolved, Red Candle concluded its statement by vowing to “continue its passion and creativity as a game company.”
A film adaptation of Detention, Red Candle’s debut title, will be released in Asia on Sept. 20, 2019.
