Games Journalists Target Black Myth: Wukong
Stellar Blade is yesterday’s news; games journalists and the rest of the perpetually offended have a new target: Black Myth: Wukong. Well, it’s not so new; a hate campaign has been going on since at least August of 2023. But it’s coming to light now because of a recent – and I have to stress, unconfirmed – charge against games journalists and DEI consulting firms like Sweet Baby Inc. If you don’t know what Black Myth: Wukong is, you’re in the same boat I was till I saw the trailer during last week’s Summer Game Fest. If you haven’t seen it, here it is:
Unfortunately, there’s no gameplay in the trailer, but the graphics in those cinematics are sensational. But games journalists have been going after the game and its developer, Chinese company Game Science, and the game’s producer, Feng Ji. They claim sexism for a series of jokes the company made (jokes that probably – okay, definitely – wouldn’t be allowed at an American company for fear of sexual harassment lawsuits), as well as statements from Feng explaining the differences between men and women, particularly in their gaming habits, and why designing a game meant for men to appeal to women is foolish. IGN wrote one about the company’s “sexism,” which seems mostly to involve Feng’s penchant for sexual jokes and analogies. Mark Kern, alias Grummz, has collected some of them:
The founder of Black Myth Wukong, Feng Ji, sounds incredibly based.
In November @IGN wrote a hit piece article on him and other studio founders but ended up making them look like the Honey Badgers of gaming.
Feng: "You don't need the reverse motivation of female players, you… pic.twitter.com/MyxRZZjjSz
— Grummz (@Grummz) June 14, 2024
The Gamer was also targetting the upcoming release, and the title of one of their articles – an even earlier piece called “I’m Chinese and Black Myth: Wukong Doesn’t Excite Me” – seems designed to arrogantly give gamers permission not to play it.
Black Myth: Wukong faced pressure to make changes to appeal to a 'modern audience,' but the developers refused. TheGamer then made a hit piece (pay attention at Stellar Blade CM sharing this trash site). Thanks to their criticism, I am now even more inclined to buy your game. pic.twitter.com/YomJ9d5jWA
— LearningTheLaw (@Mangalawyer) June 14, 2024
Looking at Feng Ji’s statements, it’s not surprising games journalists have it in for Black Myth: Wukong, just like they did for Stellar Blade. Sure, Feng is giving them more ammunition than the Shift Up guys did (outside of the revealing outfits), but their ire comes from the same place. However, it may be more sinister than that; the X account Pirate Nation shared what he claims is a Chinese news piece saying that consulting firms like Sweet Baby Inc. (though SBI is not mentioned, specifically, as far as I can tell) coordinate with games journalists to shake down video game developers. Essentially, so the claim goes, if you don’t pay the firms their consulting fees – in this case, $7 million – and let them woke-ify your game, journalists will flame you. You can see the post below:
>Chinese media: 'Black Myth: Wukong' refused to be extorted $7 million by SweetBaby.
English:
The reason why the team behind "Black Myth: Wukong" has been subjected to persistent sexist attacks and slander since their first promotional video is because they have consistently… pic.twitter.com/P94rUpVnuI
— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) June 14, 2024
Again, I want to stress that this is unconfirmed; the news source isn’t even named. And though the media attacks on Black Myth: Wukong and its developer seem coordinated, journalists do this all the time, and I don’t just mean games journalists. But, as Grummz (who seems to believe this is at least highly possible) points out, Sweet Baby Inc. makes no secret of its coercive tactics when trying to get developers to hire them. Remember this video:
The Co-Founder of Sweet Baby Inc Kim Belair proudly explains the method she uses to force bosses at game studios to censor, alter, and "diversify" game projects she feels are problematic – "Terrify them" aka threaten them with the anger of the cancel culture mob. pic.twitter.com/eFJZeKqSZd
— GamesNosh (@GamesNosh) March 4, 2024
Sweet Baby Inc. CEO Kim Belair used the word “terrify.” Everyone assumed at the time that she meant that woke employees should lie and exaggerate to make their marketing teams think hiring a consulting firm was essential, but maybe that’s not all she meant. When someone starts using dishonest tactics like that and openly brags about them, is it a stretch to think they’ll eventually just start outright threatening prospective “clients”? I don’t know if that post on the Chinese news report is accurate, but if it turns out to be true, I won’t be shocked.
As for Feng Ji and Game Science, I’ll bet they see dollar signs every time they close their eyes because this is the kind of publicity you can’t buy. The games journalists are selling Black Myth: Wukong better than any trailer could. If this game is a hit, the banshees will screech once again, but more importantly, we’ll have even more proof that normal people are sick to death of the woke incursion on entertainment. Every new instance chips away at their influence; it’s going to be a long process, but video games may just come out on the other side of this tunnel.
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