The problem of sexism in the Chinese gaming industry amid the scandal with the authors of Black Myth: Wukong

The share of women in the Chinese gaming market

• in 2019, the number of female gamers increased by 3.5% and exceeded 300 million people;
• according to Niko Partners, now 48% of Chinese gamers are women (there are 720 million players in the country);
• The popular MOBA Honor of Kings is played by more women than men. At the same time, they spend significantly less on in-game purchases than the male audience;
• Despite the increase in the number of women playing, games are still predominantly created by men. Therefore, it is their tastes and preferences that shape the current agenda in China.

The scandal with the authors of Black Myth: Wukong

“[Lately] I’ve been licked so often that I’ve lost my erection,” is how the head of the studio, Feng Ji, commented on the allegedly increased number of people willing to work in the studio amid the success of the game trailer. The South China Morning Post also reports that in another post, the CEO of Game Science stated the following: “Now I feel the tension in my pants!”

Such statements divided gamers into two camps. Some did not see anything offensive in Ji’s words and claimed that his critics were showing excessive political correctness. “If the game is good on its own, then these comments don’t matter,” said one user.

However, many people were greatly offended by Ji’s words, and some female gamers declared their desire to boycott Black Myth: Wukong. Critics of the project also found an old company ad about finding new employees — in the picture, a naked man was hiding behind a can of Red Bull (the post has since been deleted).

Game Science did not comment on the statements of its CEO in any way.

Women’s view of the problem

Concept artist Scor Mu, who did not give her real name, shared her work experience. When creating the design of new characters, she receives a set of instructions aimed at sexualizing female images. “It is necessary to make people want to masturbate,” — such a condition, according to the artist, was spelled out in one of the documents.

In addition to development, Chinese women face sexism in the games themselves. Graduate student of the Faculty of Engineering Yishan Jin (Yishan Jin) told about the experience of communication in Dota 2. According to her, men often wanted to know her bra size and assumed that she was addicted to games because she couldn’t find a boyfriend.

“Chinese people who speak out against sexism are often classified as feminism. This term has a negative connotation here, the very presence of which already indicates the widespread spread of sexism and misogyny in the country,” explains Cuihua Shen, associate professor at the University of California.

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Many of the women interviewed by the South China Morning Post are pessimistic about an early solution to the problem. At the same time, they hope that the share of women in China’s gaming industry will increase.

Some developers are already making attempts to improve the situation. Gong asks his staff to stop portraying female characters with almost no clothes. She also believes that the more women express their dissatisfaction, the faster the industry will get rid of sexist standards.

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• Abacus: “Games for women — China’s new gold mine”