HONG KONG — A newly released video game from China topped charts worldwide on Wednesday, hailed as a milestone in the global expansion of Chinese culture even as overseas players expressed concerns about censorship during the game’s promotion.
Loosely inspired by the 16th century classical Chinese epic poem “Journey to the West,” action role-playing game “Black Myth: Wukong” has become a gaming sensation, garnering domestic and international acclaim for its stunning visuals and depiction of Chinese culture and mythology. Developer Game Science is backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, the country’s largest video game publisher.
The player awakens in the game as a magical monkey who can transform into other animal and human-like characters, then sets off on an arduous journey to fight monsters and discover the six relics of Goku (Son Goku) that enhance the different powers of the character.
Within hours of its release on Tuesday, “Black Myth: Wukong” became the top-selling game worldwide on the online distribution platform Steam, where the game is available to download and play for $59.99. At its peak on Wednesday, 2.2 million people were playing the game simultaneously, more than any other game on the platform.
Experts say the highly anticipated game, which has made tens of millions of dollars in pre-sales, marks a milestone for China’s gaming industry, which has historically been plagued by regulatory challenges and policy changes that limit some players’ gaming time and in-game purchases as authorities fight gaming addiction, particularly among young people.
However, it had already sparked controversy even before its release, with prominent game critics who were given advance access reporting that they had been instructed not to discuss certain topics during live streams of the game.
The Google Doc provided to them by Hero Games, the Beijing company handling marketing for the game, listed one “do” (“Enjoy the game!”) and several “don’ts.”
The bans included the use of “trigger words” such as “quarantine,” “isolation” and “COVID-19,” as well as discussion of politics, “feminist propaganda” and “other content that fuels negative discourse.”
The coronavirus pandemic remains a sensitive topic in China, where mass protests erupted in late 2022 against the Chinese Communist Party’s strict “zero-COVID” regulations. The government has also cracked down on efforts to promote women’s rights.
The judges were also asked not to discuss China’s gaming industry policies.
“It’s not normal,” said Benoit Regnier, a prominent French gaming YouTuber and journalist who goes by the name Ex Serv.
The campaign guidelines were shared with Rainier and others as a condition for receiving a virtual key to download the game early.
“By using your game keys and creating content, you acknowledge that you understand the following guidelines and any statements made are your own and not related to our marketing team,” said an email from a Hero Games representative to Rainier dated Saturday and reviewed by NBC News.
“Seeing a studio send out recommendations through a PR firm to avoid ‘negative speech’ is a huge red flag to me,” Rainier told NBC News in an email.
Game Science and Hero Games did not respond to requests for comment.
Black Myth: Wukong is said to be China’s first “AAA” game, a classification used to describe high-budget, high-profile games that are often referred to as blockbusters.
While mobile games such as “Genshin Impact” have become popular globally in recent years, Chinese game developers have yet to achieve true success on consoles or PCs.
“The uncertainty around regulation has always been a concern,” said Ivan Su, a Hong Kong-based senior equity analyst at Morningstar.
But recently, “Chinese game studios have clearly stepped up their game,” he said.
The game’s success was celebrated by Chinese state media, who described it as a “bridge between cultures.”
“Previously, Chinese athletes have gone through a process of cross-cultural understanding, and now it is the turn of overseas athletes to learn and understand China’s traditional culture,” state broadcaster CCTV said in a blog post on its WeChat account on Wednesday.
In a sign of government enthusiasm, China Central Television (CCTV) featured the game on its news on Tuesday night, while China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, released a 32-minute video interview with the developer.
“They don’t normally do things like this,” Sue said.
He said the state media reports “say a lot about the government’s attitude towards this sector. Things are definitely moving in the right direction for the industry.”
Asked about the game on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said he was not familiar with the game but that its success “reflects the appeal of Chinese culture.”
The game has also been a huge hit on Chinese social media, with hashtags related to the game receiving over 2 billion views on Weibo.
“You’ve rode horses in the American West, been a pirate in Europe, a soldier on foreign battlefields and an assassin in Egypt. Now you can finally come home and be your own hero,” one comment read.
“This is a cultural export of China’s soft power and everyone should support it.”
