Black Myth: Wukong’s producer seems upset that he didn’t win GOTY
When you lose a major award after being nominated, it’s common to smile constantly, warmly applaud your successful competitor, and never talk about it again. But no one told Feng Ji, CEO of Chinese developer Game Science and producer of its popular game. Black Myth: Wukongwho was defeated by Astro Bot in the Game of the Year category at The Game Awards on Thursday.
Feng published a long reflection on Black mythevening at The Game Awards on Weibo, where his name is Yokar. He acknowledged the game’s wins in the Best Action Game and Players’ Voice categories, but expressed disappointment and confusion over the GOTY loss and admitted that he wrote the acceptance speech two years ago.
“The four nominations (Best Action, Best Artwork, Best Game Direction, and Game of the Year) were a first for a Chinese game,” Feng noted with justifiable pride (via machine translation). “However, I must admit that there is a sense of loss and regret. But, first of all, you need to get rid of illusions.
“All of the games nominated this year were exceptional, but to be honest, I still can’t figure out what the criteria for game of the year were,” Feng continued. “I feel like I came all this way for nothing!”
One could argue that Feng and the Game Science team must have gotten pretty good at the Game of the Year criteria to make it into the final six nominees. Black Myth: Wukong is notable for being the first Western-style AAA console game to hit China, and if success at The Game Awards was part of the plan, it looks like it hit the bull’s eye. But Feng was honest that he coveted—and even expected—the grand prize.
“Since last night I have seen a lot of intense dissatisfaction and disappointment in comments from players – often expressed with humor or irony, which made me laugh,” he said.
“I completely understand these feelings and share the disappointment because behind these emotions lies not pain or anger, but dignity and confidence,” Feng added. “When you’re so confident in yourself but don’t get the recognition you’re expecting, it’s natural to feel upset. (…) In fact, I wrote my Game of the Year speech two years ago – only to never get the chance to deliver it!”
Salty! It is true that the tone of Feng’s comments may have been lost in translation. (Polygon collated two machine translations, from ChatGPT and Google Translate.) Some comments online say Feng’s original Chinese post comes across as humorous self-mockery, while others say it sounds arrogant and bitter .
Feng’s unfiltered messages were already confusing him. Last year, IGN reported on the apparent culture of sexism around Black Myth: Wukongand noted the crude sexist language the CEO used in some of his social media posts.
But passionate candor is part of Feng’s online persona and part of what excites him. Black mythlegion of fans. His post may seem like uncouth sour grapes and a violation of entertainment industry etiquette – but chances are that’s exactly the point and the intended effect.