‘Black Myth: Wukong’ Is One of 2024’s Most Anticipated Games—and One of the Most Controversial

Black Myth: Wukong is currently one of the most anticipated games releasing later this year, as well as one of the most controversial. Both the game and its developer are in a fair bit of hot water for how they’ve treated women in the past.

If you aren’t already familiar, Black Myth: Wukong was developed by Game Science. It is based on the incredibly popular Chinese novel Journey to the West, which was published in 1592 and has gone on to influence properties like Dragonball and One Piece. The game is centered on a character called “the Destined One,” based on the character Sun Wukong from the novel.

Now, let’s talk about studio allegations. In November of 2023, IGN published a deep dive into the toxic, unprofessional work environment rife with misogyny and fatphobia cultivated at Black Myth: Wukong’s studio Game Science. A report made by anonymous workers at the studio revealed multiple male employees making horrible sexist remarks, like a “friends with benefits” perk listed on a job recruitment poster. “Fatties should f– off” was written on another poster.

If that wasn’t gross enough, there’s more. Developers at the studio also said that women shouldn’t be allowed to play games made by the company, insisting that there are “biological differences” between men and women in terms of skill level. That level of misogynistic behavior should not be tolerated by anyone, especially given how bad the gaming industry is to women already.

One female Chinese games designer speaking under the pseudonym of Jen commented on the situation, telling IGN’s Rebekah Valentine and Khee Hoon Chan, “These male developers have never paid the price for their misogynistic remarks. In their eyes, women don’t deserve respect. Even just listening to them is considered pandering, a marketing tactic, and catering to Western political correctness. I can’t describe how despairing this feels.”

IGN’s original article is worth reading in full as some of the stuff described is too heinous to post here. Be warned, there’s a ton of grotesque objectification and patriarchal evil there. Since its publication, Game Science has removed a few of the sexist remarks off its website and recruitment ads following backlash, but they did not give an official apology nor remove all of it. It might as well be nothing.

Meanwhile, IGN’s reporters have faced unrelenting attacks both personal and professional from legions of angry gamers online, with a new wave of harassment occurring just this past week, more than six months after the original article’s publication. Game Science has remained silent on the harassment campaign being waged in its name.

Black Myth: Wukong releases on August 20, 2024, but we’d hope these horrible acts of misogyny from the company would make gamers reconsider giving them money, especially with so many other massive releases on the horizon.