Why is this Chinese video game causing such a stir?

An anthropomorphic monkey and a campaign against “feminist propaganda” ignited the video game community this week, following the release of the most successful Chinese title of all time.

Many gamers were outraged after the company behind Black Myth: Wukong sent them a list of topics to avoid during the game’s live stream, including “feminist propaganda, fetishization and other content that promotes negative discourse.”

However, within 24 hours of its release on Tuesday, it became the second most played game ever on the Steam streaming platform, amassing more than 2.1 million concurrent players and selling more than 4.5 million copies.

The game, based on the classic 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, is being seen as a rare example of popular media broadcasting Chinese stories on an international stage.

Black Myth: Wukong is a single-player action game where players take on the role of “The Destined” – an anthropomorphic ape with supernatural powers.

Destined One is based on the character of Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, a key character in Journey to the West.

Considered one of the greats of Chinese literature, this novel draws heavily from Chinese mythology, as well as Confucianism, Taoist and Buddhist folklore.

It has inspired hundreds of international films, TV shows and cartoons, including the popular Japanese anime series Dragon Ball Z and the 2008 Chinese-American fantasy film The Forbidden Kingdom.

First announced via a much-hyped trailer in August 2020, Black Myth launched on Tuesday after four years of anticipation.

It is the first AAA release of the Chinese video game industry – a title usually given to big-budget games by major companies.

The high-end graphics, sophisticated game design and fervent hype have all contributed to its success – as has the size of China’s gaming community, which is the largest in the world.

“It’s not just a Chinese game targeting the Chinese market or the Chinese-speaking world,” Haiqing Yu, a professor at Australia’s RMIT University whose research specializes in the sociopolitical and economic impact of China’s digital media, told the BBC.

“Players all over the world [are playing] a game that has a Chinese cultural factor.”

This has become a great source of national pride in the country.

The Department of Culture and Tourism in Shanxi Province, an area that includes many of the locations and sets featured in the game, released a video on Tuesday showing real-world attractions, sparking a tourism boom called “Wukong Travel.”

Videos posted on TikTok in the wake of Black Myth’s release show tourists flocking to the temples and shrines featured in the game, in what one user X characterized as a “successful example of cultural rediscovery”.

Niko Partners, a company that researches and analyzes video game markets and consumers in Asia, similarly noted that Black Myth “helps showcase Chinese mythology, traditions, culture and real-life locations in China to the world.”

Prior to Black Myth’s release, several content creators and streamers revealed that a company affiliated with the developer had sent them a list of topics to avoid talking about while live streaming the game: including “feminist propaganda, fetishization, and content others that promote negative discourse”. .

While it’s not clear what exactly was meant by “feminist propaganda,” a widely circulated report by video game publication IGN in November alleged a history of sexist and inappropriate behavior by employees of Game Science, the studio behind Black Myth.

Other topics designated as “Don’ts” in the document, which has been widely shared on social media and YouTube, included politics, Covid-19 and China’s video game industry policies.

The directive, which was sent by co-publisher Hero Games, has sparked controversy outside of China.

Many content creators refused to review the game, claiming that its developers were trying to censor discussion and stifle free speech.

Others chose to defy the warnings directly.

A creator with the username Moonmoon started a Black Myth Twitch stream titled “Taiwan’s Feminist Covid-19 Isolation Propaganda (It’s a Real Country)”. Another broadcaster, Rui Zhong, discussed China’s one-child policy on camera while playing the game.

On Thursday, Chinese social media platform Weibo banned 138 users who were deemed to be violating its guidelines when discussing the Black Myth.

According to an article on the state-run Global Times news site, a number of banned Weibo users “were deviating from discussing the game itself, but instead using it as a platform to spread ‘gender bias’,” “personal attacks ” and other. irrational comments”.

While the controversy has garnered a lot of attention in the international media and online, it hasn’t really damaged or detracted from Black Myth’s overwhelmingly positive reception.

The game earned $53 million in pre-sales alone, with another 4.5 million copies sold within 24 hours of its release. Within the same timeframe, it broke the record for the most played single-player title ever released on Steam.

On platforms like Weibo, Reddit, and YouTube, and elsewhere, tons of comments are celebrating the game’s success. Many suggest that the fallout from the controversy surrounding the game’s release has been overblown.

Ms Yu agreed, describing Black Myth as an “industry and overall market success”.

“When it comes to Chinese digital media and communication platforms, of course people can’t avoid talking about censorship,” she said. “The Black Myth is… an example of how to tell Chinese history well and how to expand Chinese cultural influence globally. I don’t see any censorship there.”

She also noted that apparent attempts to direct or censor what the reviewers said were unlikely to have come from Chinese officials themselves. More likely, Ms. Yu suggested, is that the list of Dos and Don’ts came from a company trying to keep itself out of trouble.

“The company issues their notice, so if someone from central government comes to talk to the company, the company can say, ‘look, I already told them. I can’t stop people from saying what they want to say.’

“Basically, to use the colloquial term, they’ve covered their ass,” she concluded. “I see it as a politically correct gesture towards Chinese censors, rather than a real top-down directive.”