The popular Chinese gacha game Snowbreak: Containment Zone is back in the spotlight after releasing an official statement about its future policy on collaborating with cosplayers.
Snowbreak has had a turbulent yet notable history, with the developers reinventing the game’s identity by focusing more on male-centric fanservice. This shift revitalized the game but led to English voice actors declining to net themselves a paycheck solely because of the games new direction.
However, the game’s fluctuating tone and its changing age rating caught the attention of Chinese authorities. Under pressure from the CCP, the developers were forced to stop selling and revert cosmetic outfits that had been made more revealing prior to Snowbreak: Containment Zone’s Version 1.8, which were made prior to the game’s age rating being increased.
This move undoubtedly pissed off many gamers worldwide, as censorship in any form is often seen as unjustifiable. However, this particular “censorship” was somewhat mitigated by a workaround, editing a “text localization” .txt file within the game’s files.
It almost seemed as if Amazing Seasun anticipated the Chinese Communist Party’s restrictions and provided a subtle way to bypass the changes in other regions, minimizing the impact for players outside of China.
To boost Snowbreak’s popularity, with approximately 20% of its player base coming from Japan, Amazing Seasun promoted the game at this year’s Tokyo Game Show by hiring cosplayers, a common strategy that resonates with Japanese audiences, especially as the Tokyo Game Show remains one of the few gaming conventions that still features “booth babes.”
However, the appearance of Snowbreak cosplayers sparked controversy among Chinese netizens, leading to such a backlash that Amazing Seasun has now announced they will no longer invite cosplayers to their promotional events going forward.
They will also remove videos featuring cosplayers from previous versions, including version 2.2, and are actively working to eliminate content related to cosplayers who were not officially invited. Additionally, the team stated that they will adjust future content formats based on player preferences. You can read their statement on Bilibili.
The controversy began when the Chinese player base discovered that the Japanese branch of Snowbreak: Containment Zone had invited cosplayers to promote the game at TGS 2024.
The autists of China conducted their own “background checks” of these cosplayers, Chinese fans found that one of the cosplayers had previously been involved in feminist activism and politics, which did not sit well with the Chinese community, leading to backlash over her involvement in promoting the game.
It’s important to note that the controversy surrounding one particular cosplayer stems from a post they made nine years ago. The cosplayer has since clarified that their views have changed and that the post was made during a time of personal conflict, but who really knows.
Countless men in this current day and age have had their livelihoods ruined over similar situations where racist and or misogynistic comments are resurfaced years if not decades later, why should it be any different if the roles were reversed?
The cosplayer reassured fans that their past statements no longer reflect their current beliefs. The following screenshot is machine-translated, so the accuracy of the translation may be somewhat unreliable.
The Snowbreak development team has decided to end all future collaborations with cosplayers to prevent further controversies. They have also vowed to be more cautious when choosing individuals to represent the game in future promotions, although it’s doubtful that the Chinese officials involved in the project will conduct thorough background checks on cosplayers or other personnel hired to promote the product.
This decision underscores Snowbreak’s commitment to maintaining a positive relationship with its community and avoiding conflicts that could negatively impact its core player base.
People often hype the rise of games and media from countries like China and Korea as the “saviors” of the gaming industry. In reality, while these countries have indeed caught up to the West and Japan in terms of game development, they aren’t necessarily saving the industry.
Instead, they are capitalizing on the decline of creativity and quality of games produced by big name Western and Japanese companies, who have been corrupted by BlackRock’s ESG ideology and DEI diversity initiatives.
China and Korea aren’t rescuing gaming, more rather they’re exploiting a crumbling industry by offering games that still feature attractive women in revealing outfits, while charging players for the privilege, consumers largely put on a forced smile because there are few alternatives left.
Almost every major brand in the West, and even Japan have turned gay by censoring games and replacing traditional portrayals of femininity with genderless terminologies alongside masculine/androgynous designs, all while prioritizing racial and sexual diversity and inclusivity over enjoyment and authenticity.
Notably, this excludes Chinese companies like Tencent, which is heavily ESG-backed and holds massive stakes in companies worldwide, from small Japanese developers to Riot Games. Tencent also owns a significant stake in Korean developers like SHIFT UP and drives many Chinese-developed gacha games, showing they’re far from being a true ally to gamers.
As for Snowbreak: Containment Zone, only time will tell if Amazing Seasun Games will truly abandon the use of cosplayers in future promotional campaigns. This shift in strategy is a direct response to concerns from outraged Chinese netizens, ensuring the game aligns more with their audience’s expectations.
The goal is to prevent any affiliation with individuals whose political views could harm the product, such as misandrist views in a game that primarily caters to heterosexual male audiences, much like how the games of old used to be.
