Black Myth: Wukong is one of the most highly anticipated Chinese video games ever, a premium title with a blockbuster-worthy budget that underscores the country’s push to become a global cultural power.

       But ahead of its debut on Tuesday, a company affiliated with the game’s China-based developer rankled some influential overseas players with a list of topics to avoid discussing while livestreaming the game.

       The list of forbidden subjects laid out in a document under “Don’ts” — politics, “feminist propaganda,” Covid-19, China’s video game industry policies and other content that “instigates negative discourse” — offered a glimpse of the restrictions that content creators face in China as well as the topics deemed sensitive to Beijing.

       “I have never seen anything that shameful in my 15 years doing this job. This is very clearly a document which explains that we must censor ourselves,” said Benoit Reinier, a prominent video game streamer on YouTube and a French journalist, in a YouTube video.

       Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       Game Science, the game’s developer, and Hero Games, which is handling its marketing, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

       More on China Investors Struggle to Find Footing: Entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are setting up firms across the Pacific, only to find that any investment with Chinese ties is a hard sell in Silicon Valley.

       Blow to Press Freedom: Two veterans of Hong Kong’s boisterous news media scene, who didn’t shy away from publishing pro-democracy voices on their Stand News site, were arrested and convicted of conspiring to publish seditious materials as China cranked up silencing critics in the city.

       ‘Twilight Love’: China has the world’s largest population of people 65 or older, and more and more of them are unattached. For Shanghai’s lonely and retired, love is elusive.

       China’s ‘Road Trip Auntie’: After becoming an internet sensation for leaving behind an abusive husband to drive across China alone, Su Min is ready for a new milestone — divorce. But there will be a price.

       The game’s release is a landmark moment for China’s gaming industry. It is considered China’s first “AAA” title, a big-budget, global game with sophisticated gameplay and advanced graphics. Chinese news media has reported it is one of the most expensive games ever developed there, with a budget exceeding $50 million.

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.