In an effort to exert more influence in the cultural sphere and to demonstrate its ability to be a world-class creator of what currently passes globally for cultural goods, Chinese game developer Game Science released a major computer game, “Black Myth: Wukong.” The game, released on August 20, takes its inspiration from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, and includes realistic depictions of scenes and settings from the book.
Here’s how Global Times addressed the contrast between Chinese government-imposed limitations on young people playing video games and the enthusiasm about Wukong:
“In China, video games were used to be called ‘digital heroin’ given the possibility of addiction, particularly among children, and that was believed to be a reason why relevant authorities have been very careful granting publication licenses for video games.