In an unfortunate turn of events, it appears that the Chinese release of Monster Hunter World on PC has been pulled from its storefront due to regulatory complaints. Monster Hunter World, which launched this past week on PC, and was reported to have well over 1 million pre-orders through the digital storefront WeGame. However, WeGame has since been forced to suspend sales of the game and remove it from owners' libraries. There's currently no official plan to relaunch Monster Hunter World in China, as WeGame had an exclusive deal to sell the game in the country.
The official reasoning for the suspension vaguely cites multiple official complaints from Chinese authorities. The exact nature of these complaints is unclear though it is certain that Tencent, WeGame's proprietor, did not necessarily have full government approval to release Monster Hunter World on PC in the country. Specifically, the Chinese government's State Administration of Radio and Television regulatory body never officially approved the game. Again, it's unclear if this is the exact reason for the game effectively being banned, but the resulting legally dubious nature of the launch likely played a role in the situation.
What complicates the issue is that SART hasn't officially approved any game, not solely Monster Hunter World, since the Chinese government reformed the regulatory body in March earlier this year. The agency was remade to better evaluate online activity, which would likely make the online-enabled Monster Hunter World a prime target. But despite the reformed regulatory body games have continued to be released in China despite a lack of approval, including online games. The result is significant rumor and speculation regarding Monster Hunter World's effective banning.
Much of the speculation revolves around the relationship between Tecent's WeGame and its digital storefront competitor Steam, which is planned to launch in China later this year. Rumors include loyal Chinese Steam fans registering complaints in an effort to harm WeGame due to the exclusivity of Monster Hunter World, complex political maneuvering by Steam's Chinese business partner Perfect World, and more. There's even some speculation regarding Monster Hunter World being a Japanese developed game and the long history between the two countries.
Whatever the reason for Monster Hunter World being pulled from the WeGame marketplace, the reality is that the game is now unavailable for Chinese PC players and that's unlikely to change for the foreseeable future. More information will hopefully be shared regarding the situation in the days to come and an arrangement to re-release the game can be made. But for now, WeGame is offering full refunds to all Monster Hunter World purchasers.
Monster Hunter World is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz