A popular game app called the Geshin Impact is being criticized for censoring words like Tibet, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The game released last month became an instant hit but it has soon been blamed for bowing to Chinese pressure. These censored words are among the most sensitive topics for China when it comes to political matters.
The game is available on various platforms. Popularly it is being consumed widely on major mobile platforms such as App store and play store. The online game allows players to chat during the game and it has now been identified that it does not allow words such as Tibet, Taiwan and Hong Kong in the chats.
According to a particular user’s Youtube video, the game blocks these words. If a player types these words in the chats, they are getting replaced by asterisks signs. As more users started discussing the matter on the social media, game industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, going by the name ZhugeEX on Twitter, explained that this is because the game’s developer, miHoYo, is based in mainland China and has to follow the Chinese government’s rules.
The new game, which incorporates Gacha mechanics, has been downloaded at least 5 million times from Google Play Store since its launch in the end of September. The game’s popularity can also be fathomed by the 26,900,000 results a Google search throws up. However, arms of Chinese censorship controls over product of their origin can clearly been seen here.
Global distrust towards the privacy and independence of China origin products have been in the fore of global debate. With many countries starting to terminate major deals with Chinese companies and most of foreign companies based in China opting to shift, an unprecedented threat of economic crisis is looming over China.
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