Posted by S. Hill | Jun 15, 2024 | Gaming | 0
At this point, if you’re not convinced that DEI and ESG agendas are a hostile takeover of our hobbies, you’re part of the problem.
A Chinese media press release alleges that Game Science, the developers of Black Myth: Wukong, refused Sweet Baby Inc’s consultancy services after they demanded an exorbitant $7 million fee.
Agreeing to this would have imposed forced inclusivity on the game, which features anthropomorphic animals and grotesque creatures, including the monkey-man protagonist. If Game Science had accepted Sweet Baby Inc’s offer, they would have sacrificed their creative freedom and possibly ended up with a very different and heavily altered game.
The post itself isn’t concrete evidence, it’s a rumor. However, I find it plausible, especially considering CEO and co-founder Kim Belair’s admission that diversity consultancy is a hostile takeover of the gaming industry.
Belair has used fear tactics, threatening her superiors at Ubisoft to incorporate more inclusive and diverse themes by leveraging the company’s marketing team and fearmongering about the potential harm and accusations of racism if such elements were not included.
The translated post highlights that the team behind “Black Myth: Wukong” has faced persistent attacks and slander revolving around sexism since their first promotional video because they consistently refused political correctness guidance and rejected the exorbitant guidance fees demanded by these teams.
For example, in November 2023, IGN published an article about Black Myth: Wukong, accusing its developers, Game Science, of having an extensive history of sexism.
IGN criticized the lack of female representation in the game and accused China of being generally oppressive to women. The article also highlighted controversial remarks made by the founders of Game Science. For example, it mentioned how co-founder Yang Qi posted in 2013 that video games made for men differ from those made for women due to “biological differences.”
This is generally true; many women tend to be less interested in war-torn settings, violence, and guns, preferring softer and more nuanced themes in video games. However, there are certainly women who have a genuine passion for games regardless of the setting or genre.
Men and women alike often agree that women should be portrayed as feminine in fiction, rather than the unattractive and androgynous characters common in modern gaming. Both men and women tend to idolize masculine characters and attractive female characters, agreeing that women should be depicted as female, rather than androgenous sexless hybrids.
Nonetheless, mainstream journalism outlets like IGN have a history of controversial takes. For instance, they labeled Resident Evil 5 as racist because it features an African protagonist in Africa fighting infected villagers to stop a global bioweapon attack. Predictably, the primary enemies are African. In contrast, Resident Evil 4, where a White American protagonist fights through infected Spaniards to rescue the president’s daughter, did not receive the same criticism.
The Chinese post continues to say that these “political correctness teams” are common in America and Europe, interfering with games like Assassin’s Creed, Dying Light 2, and God of War. These teams push for politically correct female protagonists, which often impacts the creative integrity of the developers under the guise of guidance.
For example, from its first reveal to its final release, Dying Light 2 race-swapped the character of Lawan. Similarly, God of War Ragnarok, a title associated with Sweet Baby Inc, likely race-swapped Angrboda.
Other Sweet Baby Inc titles, such as Alan Wake 2 and the upcoming South of Midnight, have faced similar accusations of replacing White characters with Black characters.
Despite journalists and developers insisting that consultancy firms like Sweet Baby Inc lack political power or authority over game development, the number of instances involving DEI/ESG consultancy and the implementation of woke themes, race swaps, and the alteration of female characters is too much to be a mere hunch.
Especially when you consider that Sweet Baby Inc CEO, Kim Belair, has essentially revealed her agenda, indicating that their consultancy services are a form of extortion. They pressure corporations into compliance by demanding payment for “consultation” services, threatening to label them as racists if they don’t comply. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) operates in a similar manner, often instigating and labeling a company or organization as anti-Semitic or harboring anti-Semites.
For instance, the ADL targeted Valve over the influx of racist extremists using Steam.
Due to the bad press from the ADL, Valve had no choice but to pay the ADL for their consultancy and guidance to combat extremism on their platform. According to a rumored Chinese post, Kim Belair and Sweet Baby Inc are essentially holding game developers for ransom in a similar manner.
The latter stages of the post conclude that Game Science refused to bow to Kim Belair and her team at Sweet Baby Inc, who allegedly demanded $7 million to transform Black Myth: Wukong from a male-dominated game into a progressive, feminized souls-like.
This refusal is cited as the reason behind the orchestrated attacks by journalistic outlets like IGN. We’ve already discussed the collusive relationship between Sweet Baby Inc and game journalists, which relies on mutual support.
Game Science has dodged a major bullet by refusing to compromise their vision for the demands of progressive activists, who operate like a mafia under the guise of Sweet Baby Inc. While Sweet Baby Inc holds significant influence in the West, the rapid acceleration of Chinese game development in recent years likely pushed Kim Belair to learn Mandarin for the first time.
However, this won’t impact Black Myth: Wukong in any meaningful way. In fact, the game is likely to be even better due to their refusal.
Sweet Baby Inc gained notoriety after one of their employees, Chris Kindred, attempted to incite a cancel campaign against an individual for creating a Steam curator group that listed publicly available information on games Sweet Baby Inc had collaborated on, such as the Saints Row reboot and Forspoken.
Both of these games were financial flops, resulting in the closure of their developers. Gamers have noted that this company has a history of producing games with nonsensical woke themes, such as the offensive “Latinx” localization in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
It appears that Sweet Baby Inc abuses their media relations to slander and shun developers who refuse to pay for their forced diversity “consultation,” acting like a nefarious anti-White and progressive cartel.
Black Myth: Wukong is set to launch on August 20th, 2024, for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. Thanks to this alleged news, the game is likely to see increased sales due to Game Science’s refusal to comply with Kim Belair’s progressive mandate.
