Hong Kong authorities have warned their residents against downloading a Taiwan-made game called Reversed Front: Bonfire, which they’re accusing of advocating for armed revolution and promoting “secessionist agendas, such as ‘Taiwan independence’ and ‘Hong Kong independence.'” As Bloomberg notes, this is the first time the special administrative region of China has invoked national security laws to ban a video game. The legislation, a national law from Beijing and a local security law passed in 2024, are supposed to address perceived threats and require internet service providers to comply with government mandate. Chinese authorities had previously ordered Google to block access to the protest song Glory to Hong Kong in the region.

Reversed Front: Bonfire was developed by a group known as ESC Taiwan, who are outspoken critics of the China’s Communist Party. The game disappeared from the Apple App Store in Hong Kong less than 24 hours after authorities issued the warning. Google already removed the game from the Play Store back in May, because players were using hate speech as part of their usernames. ESC Taiwan told The New York Times that that the game’s removal shows that apps like theirs are subject to censorship in mainland China. The group also thanked authorities for the free publicity on Facebook, as the game experienced a surge in Google searches.

The game uses anime-style illustrations and allows players to fight against China’s Communist Party by taking on the role of “propagandists, patrons, spies or guerrillas” from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, Mongolia and Xinjiang, which is home to ethnic minorities like the Uyghur. That said, they can also choose to play as government soldiers.

In its warning, Hong Kong Police said that anybody who shares or recommends the game on the internet may be committing several offenses, including “incitement to secession, “incitement to subversion” and “offenses in connection with seditious intention.” Anybody who has downloaded the game will be considered in “possession of a publication that has a seditious intention,” and anybody who provides financial assistance to it will be violating national security laws, as well. “Those who have downloaded the application should uninstall it immediately and must not attempt to defy the law,” the authorities wrote.

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Hong Kong’s national security police have a new target in their sights: gamers.

In a stern warning issued Tuesday, they effectively banned a Taiwanese video game they described as “advocating armed revolution,” saying anyone who downloaded or recommended it would face serious legal charges. The move comes as the authorities continue to tighten control over online content they consider a threat to the Chinese city.

“Reversed Front: Bonfire” is an online game of war strategy released by a Taiwanese group. Illustrated in a colorful manga style, players can choose the roles of “propagandists, patrons, spies or guerrillas” from Taiwan, Mongolia and the Chinese territories of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet in plots and simulated battles against China’s ruling Communist Party. Alternatively, players can choose to represent government fighters.

The game was removed from Apple’s app store in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but remains available elsewhere.

But it had already been out of reach for many gamers. It was never available in mainland China and earlier this month Google removed “Reversed Front” from its app store, citing hateful language, according to the developers.

Hong Kong police accuse mobile game of promoting ‘armed revolution’

toggle caption Ryland Barton/NPR

HONG KONG — Hong Kong police on Tuesday warned people against downloading and using a gaming app that it says advocates “armed revolution” and the overthrow of the “fundamental system” of Mainland China.

Anyone who downloads or uses the app, or makes in-app purchases in it, would be violating the city’s controversial national security law, the police said in a statement on Tuesday.

The crackdown on the gaming app and its users is just the latest in what democracy and human rights advocates say is an erosion of Hong Kong’s civil rights and freedoms since Beijing implemented a sweeping national security law on the city in 2020. Hong Kong beefed up the law last year , passing legislation that toughened punishment for dissent, including life in prison for acts considered insurrectionist.

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Hong Kong police say the mobile game Reversed Front: Bonfire intentionally provokes hatred towards central authorities and the Hong Kong government. Hong Kong residents or companies who knowingly publish the gaming app, share it or recommend it to others may be seen as inciting secession and subversion, authorities warned.

The game, published by ESC Taiwan, allows players to “pledge allegiance to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Tibet, Kazakhs, Uyghur, Manchuria or the Rebel Alliance of Cathaysian and Southeast Asia to overthrow the Communist regime,” according to the game’s website. Or players can “choose to lead the Communists to defeat all enemies, and resume the century-long march of the Communist revolution.”

The game’s website calls it a work of nonfiction. “Any similarity to actual agencies, policies or ethnic groups of the [People’s Republic of China] in this game is INTENTIONAL,” the website states.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But on the game’s Instagram page, the company posted a screenshot of a local TV news report about the game being labeled a national security violation, and thanked the broadcaster for introducing the game to all of Hong Kong.

The tongue-in-cheek post may be a reference to the fact that the game does not appear to be very popular.

The number of downloads is not public, but as of Wednesday the game has fewer than 360 ratings on the Apple and Google app stores combined. Popular mobile game apps, such as Call of Duty or Block Blast, have millions of ratings.