GOG boss admits pulling Taiwanese horror title Devotion cost it “credibility”

The managing director of GOG, Maciej Gołębiewski, has acknowledged that the company’s decision to back out of selling Taiwanese horror game Devotion on its storefront in 2020 did damage to its reputation.

Speaking to Eurogamer, the executive admitted that the company was not as savvy to the international situation when it came to Devotion and this cost it some “credibility”.

Devotion initially was released on Steam in February 2019 but was pulled from that storefront after an in-game poster was thought to mock Chinese president Xi Jinping. As a result, developer Red Candle saw its publishing agreements with Indievent and Winking Entertainment terminated. The Chinese government also revoked Indievent’s business license.

In December 2020, Red Candle Games announced that it was launching its controversial title Devotion on GOG, only for the PC platform to say that it was refusing to sell the game.

“That situation remains difficult to reflect on. At the time, we made that decision in the context of very real business constraints, a limited understanding of the complex geopolitical factors at play, and a lack of good options that would both protect GOG and partners and allow the game to be released responsibly,” Gołębiewski said, looking back.

“In hindsight, we acknowledge that this decision – and the way we communicated it – understandably damaged the trust our users have in us.

“But it’s also important for us to be transparent. Keeping a global digital storefront operating means navigating legal, operational, and commercial realities that don’t always allow for ideal outcomes. In 2020, we chose a path we believed was best for GOG, even though it came at a cost to our credibility.”

Since then, GOG has gained positive PR for being one of two PC storefronts to stock the controversial Horses, along with Itch.io.

“There was no other concern driving this decision, just a straightforward evaluation of the game itself,” Gołębiewski said.

“When I say that we’re ready to take a stand on the right values,” he continued, “I don’t mean that we won’t make mistakes, or that every decision will be easy, or that we’ll never face trade-offs. I do mean that with every given opportunity, we’re striving to be clearer, more consistent, and more willing to stand behind our choices (including explaining them openly when they’re being questioned).”