Black Myth Wukong Controversy Explained: Game Science Allegations Breakdown

Game Science, the developer behind the smash hit Black Myth: Wukong has found itself mired in controversy thanks to a leaked document.

Black Myth: Wukong, a new action RPG, is poised to be one of the biggest games of the year. Its Steam rating is listed as “Overwhelmingly Positive” out of over 180,000 reviews. Indeed, gamers can’t seem to get enough of the single-player title.

But things have gone a bit awry with Black Myth: Wukong, as observed by those paying close enough attention.

What’s Controversial About Black Myth: Wukong?

Black Myth: Wukong was made available for purchase on August 20. And naturally, as with every other popular new video game under the sun, streamers have been itching to put fingers to keyboard and broadcast themselves playing it.

After all, the game has already proven itself quite popular, which would surely bring in big success and increased notoriety for developer Game Science.

But there’s trouble in paradise for Game Science. The studio sent out a list of guidelines to players wishing to stream Black Myth: Wukong (via Sports Illustrated). And those guidelines have turned out to be pretty controversial.

Listed under “Don’t’s” for streamers of Black Myth Wukong is a laundry list of stipulations that many have found at best restrictive and at worst, incredibly offensive.

According to Game Science, streamers aren’t supposed to mention topics like politics, violence, “feminist propaganda” and anything else that has the potential to spark “negative discourse.” Game Science has also specifically requested that players not utter terms like “quarantine” or “COVID-19.”

Under the “Do’s” column is simply the phrase “Enjoy the game!”

Paul Tassi of Forbes reached out to a US-based streamer and confirmed that they did, in fact, receive this guidelines email from Game Science, seemingly verifying its authenticity.

Clearly, the values held by Game Science have rubbed gamers the wrong way. And this wouldn’t even be the first time that the Chinese game developer has found themselves the subject of backlash.

In 2023, IGN published a lengthy exposé detailing Game Science’s allegations of sexism after several individuals working with the studio posted messages online that could be considered quite inflammatory and misogynistic.

Game Science has remained quiet throughout this period of controversy around Black Myth: Wukong and has yet to acknowledge any of the complaints and concerns leveled against them.

Black Myth: Wukong is now available for PlayStation and PC.