Red Candle Games, the creators of the Taiwanese horror game Devotion, have released a statement on the game's future. Unfortunately, it sounds like we won't be seeing their game return to Steam anytime soon.
Earlier today, Red Candle Games posted an update to the controversy involving Devotion and placeholder art with references to Winnie the Pooh and Chinese president Xi Xingping:
https://twitter.com/redcandlegames/status/1150706682252726273
In their statement, they talk about the "art asset incident" and the harm it's done to them and their partners. The incident, which touches upon tensions between Taiwan and China is stated as being a "...malfunction of project management, not a deliberate act." While they're still in talks, the studio unanimously decided that they won't re-release Devotion "...in the near term."
However, there is hope for those of us who want to play Devotion. Red Candle Media mentions that "players, industry friends, and the media" are starting to realize the rogue asset was a mistake. They add "If, in the future, the public would be willing to view the game rationally and allow us the opportunity to rebuild trust with our players, Red Candle would reconsider re-releasing Devotion." According to Vice, a Red Candle Games representative didn't provide clarification on what they meant by "viewing the game rationally." In addition, they refused to comment about Indievent, Red Candle Games' former publisher, which had their business license revoked over Devotion.
Red Candle Games concludes their statement by bearing "full consequence" for the incident. They hope to get a second chance with Devotion in the near future. A second chance that "...both Red Candle and its partner simply wanted to create a great game and no one wished for such an incident to occur."
If you would like to support Red Candle Games, their previous title, Detention, is still available on Steam. If you want to find out what we thought about Devotion, we reviewed it when it first came out earlier this year.
