Hong Kong Protesters Fight in the Streets in GTA Online
The protests on the streets of Hong Kong continue, and the Chinese government remains steadfast. As a result, gamers decided to move the demonstrations to the streets as well, but to the streets of Los Santos, the main city of GTA V.
The protests in Hong Kong began in March of this year and there is no sign that they will end soon. This is a response to the strong intervention of the Chinese government in the autonomy of the region and the violation of civil liberties. Somewhere in the background is the theme of the gaming market, which also contributes to the development on the streets of Hong Kong. First, under pressure from Chinese politicians, Blizzard suspended Chung "blitzchung» NG Vai, professional esports player, after supporting protesters after winning a major tournament Hearthstone. Later Valve delayed for a very long time before adding games to Steam in which the player could play as one of the protesters. After all, free Hong Kong and no karma will appear on the platform. What is the reason? Controversy and potentially illegal content. Google also contributed by removing the mobile game The Revolution of Our Times from the Google Play Store, another title that stood up for the protesters. The deprivation of the title caused a great stir even among the employees of the company.
This time, thanks to one of the latest GTA Online updates, Diamond Casino Heist, a lot of clothing and equipment has been added to the game. Among them were yellow helmets and gas masks, the same ones used by the demonstrators in Hong Kong. According to the BBC, users of the LIHKG forum (Chinese equivalent of Reddit) organized a protest on the streets of Los Santos. Everyone who wanted to take part in the event had to join the "Hong Kong stand" team and buy a set called "Glory to Hong Kong". Protesting gamblers wreaked havoc in all parts of the city, including throwing Molotovs at police cars and attacking metro stations. Soon mainland Chinese players joined the police force and regular clashes between the two groups broke out in the streets. Weibo reported that the epic fight was won by the police forces because they simply had more players on their side than there were in the ranks of the protesters.
Rockstar Games has not issued a single statement regarding the situation.