Most people probably view Animal Crossing: New Horizons as a harmless game you can play to pass the time during the Coronavirus outbreak quarantine. However, some have found a different use for the Nintendo title and it's causing some stores to remove it from their listing. Interestingly, some activists have decided it's the best way to continue with their Hong Kong protests.
According to Reuters, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is no longer available on Taobao and Pinduoduo. In a separate report by Ping West, resellers on Taobao revealed on the social media website WeChat that the store had directed them to stop selling the game on its platform.
But what's with the sudden removal of New Horizons? Some players in China have reportedly been using the game to criticize the country's president, Xi Jinping as well as Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam. Since New Horizons allows players to create custom images within the game and share them wherever they'd like, the protestors are putting up messages, taking screenshots, then sharing them online.
For now, it has not yet been confirmed whether New Horizons was removed from Pinduoduo and Taobao due to the continuing Hong Kong protests that can be found in the game. On the other hand, many believe that this is the case since several games have been heavily censored for less than what the title currently offers. Additionally, Hong Kong protestor Joshua Wong has been actively using the game for this purpose. Stay tuned for more updates on this story.
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