Update:

Red Candle Games has issued a new statement on the absence of Devotion on Steam. The Taiwanese developers specifically cited an "art asset incident related to Devotion" as having caused "immeasurable harm to Red Candle Games" and its partners. The joke hidden in Devotion, which references Chinese president Xi Jinping , seems to have caused more harm to Red Candle Games than the studio initially suggested.

Original story follows:

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Red Candle Games has put an end to any speculation that its Taiwanese horror game, Devotion was banned from Steam following a backlash from Chinese gamers - but it was temporarily removed because of that backlash.The Taiwanese horror game caused controversy earlier this week when players reported spotting a reference to a Winnie-the-Pooh meme mocking Chinese President Xi Jinping. It subsequently disappeared from Steam , leading some believe it had been banned from the platform.However, in a Facebook statement , the developer explained that it removed its title to "have another complete QA check," and ensure that "no other unintended materials" were left in the game. It also cites "technical issues" that caused "unexpected crashes," as another reason for the removal.Devotion launched last week and received Mostly Positive reviews on Steam until this incident lead to it getting review bombed.The controversy also caused an influx of negative reviews for the devs' earlier game, Detention, and saw over 2,700 Mostly Negative reviews flood in on Steam

Shabana is a freelance writer who enjoys JRPGs, wine, and not finishing games. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram