The release of a Chinese video game touted as the country’s first to meet Triple-A standards, has sparked a flurry of online criticism of the Chinese government.
Video games are given a AAA label when they are backed by big funds, highly developed and distributed by well-known publishers.
The Aug. 20 worldwide release of the Chinese game Black Myth: Wukong has been anticipated since its demo got more than 56 million views on the Chinese video-sharing website Bilibili in 2020.
On YouTube, which is banned in China, the game demo had more than 10 million views.
Developed by China-based Game Science, the game has players take on the role of the Monkey King, a character from the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West, and defeat monsters wreaking havoc on the world.
Although the game has no direct connection to politics, Chinese commenters took to a U.S.–based gaming discussion board ahead of the release to criticize the Chinese government and President Xi Jinping.
The discussion board on Steam, a Washington state-based online gaming platform, was hit with a slew of comments in Chinese last week that directly and indirectly criticized Chinese authorities and Xi.
One mocked Xi’s unprecedented third term as leader, saying, "I will continue to be Jade Emperor in Black Myth: Wukong. Raise your hands if you oppose it."
Most critical posts ranted against the Chinese government, in ways unrelated to the game.
"Overthrow the Communist Party of China and establish a democratic constitutional system where everyone has a vote," read what appeared to be the first critical comment.
"Thank you to the party, thank you to our great chief accelerator, Xi Jinping," another comment reads, mocking Xi’s policies as accelerating China's economic decline.
Another post listed the timeline of the weeks-long 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests and the subsequent violent crackdown that occurred when Chinese troops used lethal force against student-led demonstrators, killing hundreds, perhaps thousands.
Such critical comments of China’s government and leaders are not allowed on China’s internet, where an army of censors frequently scrubs websites and discussion boards of comments that do not follow the Chinese Communist Party’s line.
Observers were surprised to find by the afternoon of Aug. 16, many of the critical posts on Steam’s U.S. discussion board had similarly been removed.
Li Ying, a Chinese social media influencer and government critic known online as Teacher Li, posted his opposition to the removal on Aug. 14 on X with screenshots of the original posts.
"Steam is inherently a free platform, with a wide variety of games here, and players are free to express any opinions and opinions about the game," he wrote on X.
Steam's China-based website does not have a discussion board, and the U.S.-based discussion board is only available to users outside China. Those inside China need to use a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, which helps users bypass controls to access internet content outside the country that is blocked.
VOA reached out to Steam seeking comment about why the posts were deleted but did not receive a reply. Steam's discussion board rules do not explicitly prohibit political posts but say that users are not allowed to post “disrespectful” content and to avoid posting content unrelated to the topic.
While the game is not directly connected to the Chinese government, it did receive some official help and praise. The city government of Hangzhou, where Game Science is located, gave the game a grant in 2022. State media in the province, Zhejiang, described the game as "one of the most important explorers in the history of AAA games in China – an explorer that deserves applause and encouragement."
It’s not the first time Black Myth: Wukong has stirred up some controversy.
The game's developers have been accused of making lewd and sexist remarks.
Feng Ji, the founder and CEO of Game Science, in a Weibo post last year lamenting the difficulties in development, used words with erotic connotations and compared his desire for expanding development to oral sex.
Yang Qi, the game's artistic director, remarked as early as 2013 on Weibo that they would not pander to female players in the game's production.
"I don't need the reverse drive of female players. I don't take care of those lewd insects who come to pick up girls; some things are made for pure men," he wrote.
In response, a female influencer posted on the gender-focused WeChat account Orange Umbrella, urging Game Science to respect female gamers.
"As a fellow player, I know how much hard work and dedication it takes to make a game, and Black Myth: Wukong's dedication and seriousness in the production are commendable," she wrote. "However, don't let the backward gender consciousness push players who are also full of expectations for the game in the opposite direction more and more."
When Western media, including IGN, one of the most influential U.S. online news sites for video games, reported last year on the controversial comments, nationalist Chinese commenters called the coverage an attempt to impose western values and put down China’s gaming industry.
"Judging the Chinese game with the politically correct stance of the West is really biased for the media," a review article reads. The article said whether the developers' remarks constituted sexism "depends on the perspective."
On Weibo, one commenter called IGN a "clown" and wrote, "In order to suppress the rise of Chinese games, the gender card is unsurprisingly played again."
Despite the controversies, gaming industry experts expect Black Myth: Wukong to be a big hit.
Daniel Camilo, a game industry consultant based in southern China’s Shenzhen city, noted to VOA that sexism in the gaming industry is not new and has little impact on commercial success.
"Hardcore gamers and fans that actively discuss these issues and are aware of them usually represent a very small [loud] minority online that accounts for a small residual amount of those who actually buy games," he said.
The game has already received high praise from reviewers in China and abroad.
IGN gave the game an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 on Aug. 16, calling it a "great action game with great fights and exciting and powerful opponents, albeit with a few bugs."
The Chinese version of IGN gave the game a perfect score of 10, writing, "This is a truly competitive domestic game in the global market, and I believe it will be a strong contender for this year's Game of the Year."
Camilo noted the high quality of the homegrown game has given Chinese players something to be proud of that might even help improve China's international image.
"Black Myth will change perceptions people have regarding Chinese games and, to some extent, China and its cultural output and soft power really," he said.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.