Update: Devotion developer redcandlegames has assured fans it's striving to find a new place to sell its acclaimed horror classic.
Taking to Twitter after a day which saw the re-release of Devotion announced and then cancelled, the statement from the developer is below, which says "we are willing to understand and respect GOG's decision".
pic.twitter.com/SKI3SeW18sDecember 17, 2020
This follows the GOG statement on Twitter that revealed they were reversing the listing of Devotion on their storefront.
The statement came through the official GOG Twitter account earlier today, just a few hours after developer redcandlegames revealed that Devotion would be re-published on the storefront. You can see the full statement from GOG just below, in which they reveal that “after receiving many messages from gamers,” they have decided to change course on publishing Devotion.
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.December 16, 2020
Right now, there’s been no further explanation from GOG about the circumstances surrounding the change, nor has there been any comment from developer redcandlegames. We’ve reached out to GOG for further comment.
The original story follows in full below.
Devotion developer redcandlegames announced today that its horror classic would be made available for purchase once again through GOG.
Hello friends, we want to share with you– Red Candle will publish #還願Devotion on Dec 18 on GOG.https://t.co/dlC6qzBiHxThe content and the price of the re-release remains the same, for $16.99 / €13.99Thank you for your trust and support. We wish you a happy end of the year pic.twitter.com/peVPd7cyVoDecember 16, 2020
Devotion will launch through GOG later this week on December 18. The original Steam price point of $16.99 will remain the same for the GOG re-release, and the content of the game will be identical to when it originally launched in February 2019.
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Redcandlegames' Taiwanese horror adventure was released last year in February 2019 through Steam, but was delisted just a week later after some Chinese players expressed outrage at the game including an item that seemingly mocked Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The re-release of Devotion on GOG is extremely good news, not just from the games preservation angle. I never had the chance to play Devotion before it was unceremoniously delisted last year, but all I've heard is praise for redcandlegames' horror game. If you haven't played Detention, the previous release from redcandlegames, I'd highly recommend it as one of the standout horror games of the last generation.
You can check out Devotion's product page on GOG right now to wishlist the game before it launches later this week, and check the Windows system requirements (which aren't too taxing at all). The GOG release of Devotion is DRM-free, so you thankfully won't need to maintain an internet connection while playing the game.
Earlier this year, Harvard University announced that it would be preserving Devotion in one of the world's biggest East Asian media preservation libraries. More recently, redcandlegames let slip earlier this month that they're busy working on their next game, but they aren't ready to announce anything just yet.
There's now less than two weeks to go until Christmas, and you can check out our guide to all the best gifts for gamers for pointers on where to shop this Holiday season.
Ben Tyrer is a freelance games journalist with over ten years experience of writing about games. After graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in multimedia journalism he's worked for Official PlayStation Magazine as a staff writer and games editor, as well as 12DOVE (hey, that's this website!) as a news editor. He's also contributed to Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, PC Games N, and more. His game of the year - no matter the year - is Rocket League.