Overview

• On June 10, Hong Kong police warned that downloading or sharing the Taiwan-developed game could constitute possession of seditious material and incitement of secession.
• The app was removed from Apple’s Hong Kong App Store on June 11 following its earlier disappearance from Google Play in May.
• ‘Reversed Front: Bonfire’, released in April by ESC Taiwan, lets players choose factions such as Hong Kong, Tibet and Taiwan to overthrow a fictional communist regime or lead communist forces.
• Authorities cautioned that making in-app purchases could be treated as funding secession or subversion under the city’s national security and local security ordinances.
• Critics say the ban broadens Beijing’s tightened grip on Hong Kong dissent and threatens creative freedom in the gaming industry.