Developer Big-O-Tree games has halted development and promotion of a planned mobile game called Dirty Chinese Restaurant after the title drew negative attention from sources including a US Congresswoman for racist portrayals of Asian-Americans.

"After careful consideration and taking the time to listen to the publics [sic] opinion we have decided it’s not in anyone’s best interest to release Dirty Chinese Restaurant," Big-O-Tree writes in a message on its website yesterday. "We would like to make a sincere and formal apology to the Chinese community and wish to assure them that this game was not created with an intentional interest of inflicting harm or malice against Chinese culture."

Official trailers for the game have been removed from YouTube, but archived copies show the planned games' depiction of two Asian caricatures, named Wang Fu and Wong Fu, managing a restaurant by chasing stray animals for meat, finding produce in trash cans, and being threatened for deportation by immigration officials.

Big-O-Tree (motto: "Because being politically correct is so... boring") and Dirty Chinese Restaurant, its first project, were largely unknown until community activist Karlin Chan called attention to the game on Twitter after discovering the trailer during an unrelated YouTube search. That led to an irate Facebook post from Grace Meng, a Democratic congresswoman representing parts of Queens, New York, which led to widespread coverage and additional condemnation from the Asian-American community.

"This game uses every negative and demeaning stereotype that I have ever come across as a Chinese American," Meng wrote. "I fear that prejudice against and othering of Asian Americans remains a form of racism that is too frequently brushed off and tacitly accepted... I urge Google, Apple, Android, and any other platform to not carry the game Dirty Chinese Restaurant, or any other game that glorifies in hurting any community."

Before shutting down production yesterday, Big-O-Tree initially defended its work. "Our game is mainly satire and comedy influenced by the classic politically incorrect shows we grew up watching, such as: South Park, All in the Family, Sanford & Son, Family Guy, Simpsons, and Chappelle’s Show," the company wrote in a statement last week. "We also listen to Jay-Z. Our game in no way is meant to be an accurate representation of Chinese culture."

Apple's App Store guidelines prohibit "defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content" focused on groups based on categories including race, "particularly if the app is likely to humiliate, intimidate, or place a targeted individual or group in harm’s way." Google Play's Restricted Content guidelines prohibit "apps that advocate against groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin..."

Back in 2011, Owlchemy Labs faced a somewhat similar controversy over Smuggle Truck, a physics-based game about transporting illegal immigrants over the border. "The idea for the game was a reaction to the frustrations we felt as our friends struggled through a long and winding immigration process," Owlchemy wrote in a Q&A. "We understood that creating a satire would be the best way to bring the issue to light and kickstart the process of getting people discussing immigration reform."

When Apple eventually blocked the game from its App Store, the developer released a modified, cute-ified Snuggle Truck for iOS. The unmodified version appeared on Google Play and PC (though not on Steam).