7. Black Myth: Wukong sexism and censorship

One of the hottest games arriving in summer 2024 undoubtedly was Black Myth: Wukong. A third-person action game based on Chinese folklore and its classic novel Journey to the West, it let players take control of the “Monkey King”, fighting terrifying and super-tough enemies in deadly combat. The game sold 3 million copies in ten days, and is up to 20 million now, making it one of 2024’s video game blockbusters.

However, the game also stirred controversy. This is because Chinese studio Game Science gave away copies of the game to Internet influencers, but also handed them a document with guidelines about what they could talk or not talk about. This document got leaked online: COVID-19 and policies related to China’s game industry were taboo topics, and also including “feminist propaganda” in their discourse was a no-no… This was particularly controversial taking into account the people at Game Science had been accused of sexist behavior earlier in 2024, even if the lack of an Xbox version of Black Myth: Wukong has annoyed some people more though…

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Next: 8. Sega and Japanese games localization