For Chinese players, they can now download KairoSoft’s tycoon management game Pocket Academy completely free, without any in-game ads or purchases, on the TapTap app.
Pocket Academy is a popular tycoon game, where players manage all aspects of a high school including class schedules, sporting events, staffs, among other things. There are 3 grade years in the game, and as a new year comes in, 3rd year students will graduate. Their school life will determine their future success, and indicate how well the school has been doing.
Pocket Academy was originally published in China by Beijing Shi Jun, but in October 2021, KairoSoft issued an open letter accusing its publisher, Beijing Shi Jun, has been violating their business contract since 2018, using Kairosoft's source code to develop copy-cat games. In the letter, KairoSoft stated that Beijing Shi Jun lured players to pre-order games without Kairosoft's authorization in 2018, causing gamers to lose trust in the franchise. Also, Beijing Shi Jun refused to share the games' operating statistics and revenue with Kairosoft, leaving the company completely in the dark about how their game was performing in China.
Since then, Kairosoft has terminated the contract, and pulled all their games off shelf in China. They are now being re-published by Leiting on TapTap community. Since the games no longer have a publication number, they’re now completely free on the market, as a possible gesture to give back to their Chinese fans and restore brand image.