Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has a sizeable audience around the world, and China is no exception. The Asian skin market is also thriving, with some of the biggest deals of all time involving Chinese collectors. However, the skins and some other details of the game seen by users in this country are different from those available to players in the rest of the world. Sometimes these changes seem expected, and sometimes they seem strange, even given the peculiarities of Chinese censorship.
The first thing that catches the eye – are the changes in the design of skins, which were supposed to have images of skulls, bones or skeletons on them. From the point of view of the Chinese authorities, such pictures are an insult to the memory of ancestors, so they are often removed or replaced.
How the design of skins was changed
Sometimes designers manage to play such changes quite successfully, so that they do not look artificial. For example, M4A4 Desolate Space, which in the global version of the game depicts the skeleton of an astronaut in a spacesuit, in the Chinese version is just a spacesuit with the helmet visor lowered. Its glass is cracked, so it is still clear – the astronaut did not get away alive.
Often images of skulls are replaced by gas masks. For example, this is exactly how «fixed» AWP Worm God. Not only are the symbols replaced on firearm skins, but also on gloves. For example, on skins related to the operation «Bloodhound» instead of the skull and crossed knives appeared the image of a dog's paw. Even on the sticker «Killer» skulls have been replaced by gas masks, although you have to look specifically to see them. And on the Emperor (Foil) sticker, the skull image simply disappeared and was not even replaced with anything.
From maps to music packs
Censorship edits affected many maps as well. For example, on Cache, the Soviet coat of arms was removed from one of the walls, leaving instead only outlines that look like the textures just didn't finish loading. And on Dust 2 and Mirage the inscriptions in Arabic have disappeared from the buildings – they are either replaced or simply removed.
It is interesting that the changes have affected the models of some items, and here the logic of the edits is more difficult to explain. For example, apparently the image of the dollar sign is also frowned upon. In Danger Zone, the Chinese version draws just green rectangles instead of wads of money, and the money bags lack clear icons. Even some music packs were fixed – the sound remained the same, but the cover art was changed, and again because of the skull or skeleton image.
It turns out that while the essence of the game remains the same, the impression Chinese players get is different in the little things. We can rejoice that the rest of the players the variety of skins and other game items are available in all their glory, without any fixes – and at Lis-Skins.ru they can be purchased at an affordable price.
