The co-publisher of the new Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong asked this week to streamers Foreigners trying the game for free to avoid discussing sensitive topics like politics, COVID or “feminist propaganda,” players reported.
Launched on Tuesday, the game had one of the best launch days in the video game industry, becoming one of the most popular Chinese games in history by the number of people playing it on the Steam platform.
Black Mythwhich is inspired by the 16th century Chinese novele century The Pilgrimage to the Westis a game co-published by Hero Games.
It is considered the first “Triple A” title developed in China, that is, a big-budget independent game.
In Black Mythplayers step into the shoes of a character similar to the Monkey King Sun Wukong, known in the novel for his strength and extraordinary magical powers.
Of the streamers — who broadcast video games for their subscribers to comment on — said they received a document from Hero Games asking them to avoid discussing certain subjects with their audience, such as “politics” or “feminist propaganda,” according to email exchanges seen by AFP.
The co-editor also cites “COVID-19,” “isolation,” and “quarantine” as topics not to be mentioned, terms that refer to China’s strict measures during the pandemic.
“What a scandal!”
Another taboo subject: any comments on “China’s policy in the video game sector, opinions and news about China, etc.”
Benoît Reinier, a French video game content creator, confirmed to AFP on Wednesday that he had received these instructions and shared his email exchanges with a representative of Hero Games.
In a video posted on YouTube, he announced that he would not be doing streaming of the game on his channel, denouncing the “censorship” that they want to impose on him: “In 15 years of business, I have never seen something so shameful.”
“It’s very clearly a document that tells us that we must censor ourselves, that we must not talk about subjects deemed negative like politics or “feminist propaganda”, what a scandal to say such things!”, he declares in this video.
” Black Myth: Wukongwith this document, I have decided not to talk to you about it, there will be no test of the game, there will be no live on the game,” he concludes.
Neither Hero Games nor the game’s developer Game Science responded to AFP’s requests for comment on the matter on Wednesday.
“Anti-China goals”
Online, Chinese players have come to the defense of Black Myth: Wukongwith some believing that criticism of it, particularly regarding the game’s lack of diversity, is prejudice from outsiders.
“Feminists have always tried to achieve their anti-China goals by dragging traditional Chinese culture through the mud, but I think they are bound to fail,” wrote one on Chinese social network Weibo.
While the Canadian specialist site Screen Rant only gave the game a score of 3 out of 5, regretting its “lack of inclusivity and diversity”, Chinese Internet users are outraged.
“How can it lack diversity when there are so many monsters in it?” one of them reacted on Weibo.
Another accuses foreign platforms rating video games of “joining the ranks of those who smear China.”
“As they see that China has released a hugely successful game, they start to promote ideologies like LGBTQ and feminism,” he denounces.
The video game remained one of the most played on the Steam platform on Wednesday, with up to 2.2 million concurrent users since its release on Tuesday.