author: Bart Swiatek
Chinese Censorship Reaches Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord
A post published on a Chinese forum suggests that Asian users of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord may get banned for using nicknames that do not comply with Chinese standards - e.g. referring to local politicians, protests or suggesting a connection between the coronavirus and Wuhan.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- Asian players of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord may be banned in the multiplayer mode for using a nickname that does not conform to "Chinese standards" on Steam;
- We are talking about nicknames referring to Chinese politicians, controversial protests or the Wuhan coronavirus, among others.
Players accuse the devs of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, the Turkish studio TaleWorlds, of banning users whose nicknames on Steam do not comply with so-called "Chinese standards". Information on this issue appeared on the Chinese m.gamer.com forum (via Reddit - unfortunately, the topic was removed by the moderator). Below is a screenshot presenting a message about a ban.
The situation concerns Asian game servers, and it's probably caused by the fact that they are supervised by Chinese admins (interestingly, the servers themselves are said to be located in Singapore). The ban was about online gaming and is expected to last until 2029 - so in practice it is permanent. The possibility to play in multiplayer mode can be lost, among others, due to the use of nicknames associated with the leaders of the People's Republic of China (Xi Jinping or Jiang Zemin), Tiananmen Square Massacre (student protests from 1989) or... the Wuhan coronavirus (the Chinese people are opposed to linking SARS-CoV-2 to their country).
The case stirrs a lot of emotion among the players - some are afraid that TaleWorlds will follow in the footsteps of other companies that have bent their necks before China (e.g. Blizzard).
"This definitely needs attention. Too many publishers are bending the knee to daddy pooh, I don't wanna put Taleworlds in that boat too," notes Random_Imgur_User on Reddit.
Interestingly, some Chinese players blame users who use "politically motivated nicknames" and seem to fear that the confusion may lead to a general ban of TaleWorlds' game in China.
"I know this is not pleasing. But please also think for our Chinese players. We also waited in the long haul for this masterpiece, and there is nothing less we care about politics. And thanks for liberators and democratic freedom supporters with anti-PRC names, soon we can go back to MB: Warband.
Serially, there is nothing we can do. We don't want to get any trouble and we can't stop you from hating China. I hope there will be a day where politics and games do not overlap," notes CaliphateofCataphrac.
