On December 18, 2020, people were supposed to see a Devotion rerelease on GOG. However, hours after Red Candle Games announced it on December 16, 2020, CD Projekt walked it back and canceled it. Now, the developer has issued a statement on its official Twitter account apologizing to people for the situation and claiming “we won’t stop striving.”
Here is Red Candle Games’ full statement:
Hi, we are Red Candle Games,
Earlier GOG has announced on its official Twitter, “After receiving many messages from gamers, we have decided not to list the game in our store.” Though regretful but we are willing to understand and respect GOG’s decision.
For the players looking forward to Devotion’s re-release, please accept our most sincere apology. This is a difficult predicament to overcome, but we won’t stop striving.
Originally after its release, the horror game was review-bombed after an in-game charm with “Xi Jinping Winnie the Pooh Moron” was found in-game. It was pulled from Steam for a QA check and never returned, and initially Red Candle Games said there would be no Devotion rerelease in July 2019. Harvard-Yenching Library preserved both games and it even briefly got a physical release in Taiwan in 2020. CD Projekt never explained why it made its decision beyond saying it received “many messages from gamers.”
There have been multiple reactions from other developers and companies to GOG’s decision. Glass Bottom Games’ Founder Megan Fox said SkateBIRD would not appear at GOG, and it would have Hot Tin Roof removed as well. Top Hat Studios came forward and offered to help with a Devotion rerelease and possible console ports.
Devotion was available on PCs via Steam between February 19-25, 2019.
