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First Post
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
'Revenge on Gold Diggers': How a new video game is sparking a debate on sexism in China
The game entitled 'Revenge on Gold Diggers', has topped the online sales charts in China but sparked controversy and claims of sexism and misogyny. In the game, the protagonist Wu Yulun, who was previously deceived by a 'gold digger', seeks revenge. So fierce was the backlash in some quarters that the game developers have quietly changed its name. But that hasn't stopped it from topping the sales charts read more The interactive game 'Revenge on Gold Diggers' was released by publisher Qianfang Studio. Image courtesy: X An interactive videogame in China has caused an uproar and sparked a debate on sexism. The game, entitled 'Revenge on Gold Diggers', has topped the online sales charts but sparked controversy. So fierce was the backlash in some quarters that those behind the game changed its name quietly. But what do we know about the game? Why did it cause such an uproar? Let's take a closer look: What do we know? The interactive game was released by publisher Qianfang Studio. The game's lead is Hong Kong filmmaker Mark Hu. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hu is known for working on Category III films in Hong Kong – which only those above 18 are allowed to see. It hit Steam, a worldwide gaming platform, on June 19. It costs $6 (Rs 515). The platform described the game thus: 'You (the player) will play as the protagonist Wu Yulun, a man who was once deeply hurt by 'gold diggers', and is determined to use himself as bait to fight back against a gold digger organisation of 'emotional hunters'. Step into this grey area called love, navigate between several glamorous and highly adept female characters, and experience an emotional hunt that is gripping with every step.' The full-motion videogame is said to have multiple main characters and 38 possible endings. The game quickly topped the sales chart within hours of the release. In fact, it even entered the top 10 bestselling PC games in China – surpassing games like Black Myth and Baldur 3. Some have suggested the game was made after the suicide of Pangmao, a social media influencer known as 'Fat Cat' in April 2024. His death sparked much online talk about 'gold diggers' with many accusing his girlfriend of being responsible for his death. However, police dismissed the allegations. The game caused an uproar on social media as soon as it was released. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Sparks divisions' Artist Xu Yikun, who played the game, told the BBC it relied on a 'a classic business model that thrives on generating content that sparks debate and divisions'. 'It's a label that's used, all too often, on women,' Xu said about the term 'gold digger'. "Sexist jokes and derogatory terms like these have found their way into our everyday language." 'If you have a rich boyfriend, you are called a gold digger. If you try to make yourself look pretty, you are called a gold digger… Sometimes the label is used on you merely for accepting a drink from someone,' she adds. A cutscene from the game that hit Steam, a worldwide gaming platform, on June 19. Image courtesy: X China is already witnessing divisions over gender with politicians including Xi calling on women to 'embrace their roles as wives and mothers' and the state cracking down on women's rights activists amid calls for gender equality. Though developers attempted damage control by renaming the game to ' Emotional Anti-Fraud Regulator', Hu has now been banned on several Chinese social media platforms. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Those who worked on the game have defended it. As game producer Mu Fei told the website Think China, 'We used stereotypical labels combined with layered personalities as a design formula. These characters can love and hate, and players can learn by understanding them… psychology, sociology, communications, and other fields are all part of the game.' Mu said the game was born out of the real-life experiences of those who worked on it. They say they never meant to 'target women' – but instead wanted to have an 'open dialogue about emotional boundaries and the grey zones in modern dating'. Others too have rallied to the game's defence. 'The game isn't trying to say that all women are gold diggers. .. I don't find it targeting either gender," Zhuang Mengsheng, 31, told BBC. 'Both women and men can be gold diggers.' 'I don't get why people are upset about this. If you aren't a gold digger yourself, why should you feel attacked by this game?' a 28-year-old man added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I actually thought the game's creators are very bold. These issues [like emotional fraud] aren't widely discussed enough in China.' Many on social media also echoed these calls. 'How does 'gold digger' equate to misogyny or anti-women? Where's the logic?' one person asked. 'Would men criticise a game if it were titled 'Womaniser Game'?' another enquired. 'This is just to raise awareness of anti-fraud, how is it related to women's rights?' a third netizen wondered. Newspapers divided too Newspapers in China too have taken opposing viewpoints. One piece published in a news outlet in central Hubei said, 'Genuine anti-fraud education should focus on identifying fake identities and scripted manipulation, not on labeling an entire gender as 'perpetrators.'' 'Both men and women alike have committed emotional scams. There are countless examples. But this game deliberately ties fraud to women.' Another outlet in Beijing commended the game for 'creatively strengthening young people's awareness of safety in romantic relationships'. 'We need to put a stop to emotional fraud without delay,' it added. With inputs from agencies STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Forbes
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Black Myth: Wukong's Xbox Release Date Is One Year After PS5's
Black Myth: Wukong The saga of Black Myth: Wukong's absence on Xbox is finally coming to an end as Game Science has announced the enormous hit is coming to the platform. And curiously, it is one year to the day after the game's release on PlayStation and PC on August 20, 2024. Wukong will now be released on Xbox on August 20, 2025. This caps off a long saga that I ended up tangled up in when I reported that a source with knowledge of the situation told me that Black Myth: Wukong had an exclusivity deal with Sony was keeping the game off Xbox, which was later confirmed by IGN and Windows Central. That eventually elicited a statement from Microsoft heavily implying that was indeed what was happening, and claims that their hardware (namely Xbox Series S) was responsible for the delay was not the case. The statement: Still, that eventually led Game Science to comment on the difficulty of porting the game to Series S, which many took as confirmation that was the reason for the delay after all, not a deal. But neither Sony nor Game Science, through all of this, denied that an exclusivity deal was in place. Even now, no exclusivity deal is now absolutely confirmed, nor will it ever be, publicly, most likely. But the fact that Wukong is releasing exactly a year after its PC/PlayStation-only release would certainly indicate that is likely the case. I stood by my source back then and I maintain that's why this is happening now. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Black Myth: Wukong I've seen it brought up that August 20 is a special date in general for Black Myth: Wukong. There is no official date for the birth of the Monkey King in legend, but August 20 has been mentioned in the past. It is the case that Game Science first debuted Wukong footage on August 20, 2022. Then they did a hands-on on August 20, 2023. Then there was the PlayStation release in 2024 and now Xbox in 2025. I don't take this as some sort of explanation. You could certainly say that Game Science picked the date on purpose due to its supposed relationship to Wukong lore. But if you did that and then say, made a year-long exclusivity deal, that would of course end on…August 20 of the following year. Multiple things can be true. It may really have been tough to develop Wukong for Microsoft's lower-spec Series S, but simultaneously, a deal could have been in place. However, five months ago, this was the director of Black Myth: Wukong on Weibo: "Several years" appears to have been exactly a year between platform releases and less than six months from when he said this. I trust what I was told, and here we are. Again, such a deal is unlikely to ever be confirmed publicly, but this is the date, one year after PlayStation's release. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
The Verge
06-05-2025
- The Verge
launched last December
Intel's fake frames can now boost more games. Intel's XeSS 2 with just two games in tow — but five months later, your Series 2 Core Ultra laptop chip (e.g. Ultra 9 285H) or Battlemage desktop card (e.g. Arc B580) can boost framerates in a full 19 titles, Intel has announced. Most are listed in the chart below. Intel tells us the others are Black Myth Wukong, Civilization VII, Fragpunk, Naraka Bladepoint, Steel Seed, The Talos Principle Reawakened, and Wild Assault.
