It has been revealed that streamers were instructed to avoid mentioning certain topics such as COVID-19, feminism, and politics in exchange for early access to 'Black Myth: Goku'



The Chinese action RPG ' Black Legend: Wukong ,' based on the Journey to the West, is so popular that it sold over 10 million copies worldwide in just four days after its release. However, it has been reported that streamers who had early access to the game before its release were instructed to avoid discussing certain topics.

Internet goes wild for Chinese video game even as reviewers bash censorship
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/internet-goes-wild-chinese-video-game-even-reviewers-bash-censorship-rcna167499

No 'feminist propaganda'? Censorship row hits Chinese game Black Myth: Wukong | South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3275530/no-feminist-propaganda-hit-chinese-video-game-grapples-censorship-row

According to NBC News, Hero Games, the Chinese company in charge of marketing for 'Goku: The Black Myth,' shared a Google document with streamers and game reviewers who were given early access that outlined 'dos and don'ts.'

The 'Dos' list contained just one thing: 'Enjoy the game.' The 'Don'ts' list included using certain words such as 'quarantine,' 'isolation,' and 'COVID-19,' as well as political topics, feminist and LGBTQ propaganda, and content that incites negative discourse.

Benoit Regnier, a.k.a. Ex Serv, a French game developer and streamer, who accused Hero Games of sharing a Google doc with him, called the document 'censorship' and commented that he would no longer be streaming live gameplay of 'Goku: The Black Mythos' on his channel.

Censure et Black Myth Wukong : les chooses à savoir avant d'y jouer - YouTube


It's common for manufacturers and publishers to set conditions when granting early access as part of a promotion, but the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong daily English-language newspaper, points out that 'the COVID-19 instructions are likely an attempt to avoid commenting on China's policies.'

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese government implemented a 'zero-COVID policy' with strict restrictions on people's behavior, but it failed due to strong opposition from within the country and was later withdrawn. As a result, the Chinese government has banned any writing about the zero-COVID policy and censored many media outlets.



Additionally, Hero Games' instructions may have been intended to avoid offending the Chinese gamer community.

The huge success of the Chinese AAA title 'Monkey King: The Goku' has been celebrated by Chinese state media as a 'bridge between different cultures,' and the developer was interviewed for over 30 minutes, an unusual welcome. In addition, the name 'Monkey King: The Goku' is constantly trending on the Chinese SNS Weibo, and the Shanxi Provincial Culture and Tourism Bureau has released a video on the video site bilibili introducing the famous places where 'Monkey King: The Goku' is set.

Amid this 'Goku' fever, Chinese gamers' support for 'Goku' is becoming associated with nationalism, and criticism of 'Goku' is a symbol of prejudice from overseas. The Chinese gamer community has raised the argument that.

For example, one overseas review site gave 'Black Myth: Monkey Dawn' a score of 3 out of 5 for 'lacking inclusivity and diversity,' leading to criticism on Weibo that 'seeing the huge success of Chinese games, overseas reviewers have joined the forces slandering China and begun relentlessly promoting ideologies such as LGBTQ and feminism.'



In addition, the fact that the founder of Game Science, the developer of 'Black Myth: Goku,' was under fire for 'making obscene and sexist comments' and 'his recruitment materials were full of sexual harassment' is also thought to be related to the regulations on feminism.

Please note that it is not possible to purchase 'Black Myth: Goku' in Taiwan, but it has been confirmed that it can be purchased by changing your place of residence to Hong Kong.

Related Posts:

in Video,   Game, Posted by log1i_yk