Controversy Erupts Over Chinese Video Game Portraying Gender Stereotypes

The game, which depicts male protagonists being manipulated by women for financial gain, has faced significant backlash and a renaming attempt, highlighting ongoing issues of gender representation in China.

Amid growing scrutiny, a new Chinese video game titled "Revenge on Gold Diggers" is at the center of a heated debate surrounding gender stereotypes and sexism. The game quickly shot to the top of the Steam sales chart upon its release in June, but its portrayal of women as manipulative pursuers of wealth for men has drawn sharp criticism. A controversial line spoken by a character claiming they are “more obedient than a dog” exemplifies the problematic nature of the game's content.

Following the backlash, the creators at Qianfang Studio hastily renamed the game to "Emotional Anti-Fraud Simulator," but the change did little to mitigate the outrage. The game's lead director, Mark Hu, has been banned from several Chinese social media platforms amidst the condemnation. The studio claimed that it aimed to foster dialogues about emotional boundaries in dating, a defense some find unconvincing.

Xu Yikun, a critic and artist, argues that the game's title itself propagates misogyny, pointing out that the term "gold digger" is often used derogatorily against women. Other players, however, express a more tempered view, suggesting that the game does not assert that all women partake in such behaviors. Nonetheless, the characters depicted as "gold diggers" are uniformly female, which has led many to see the game as reinforcing negative stereotypes.

Chinese media coverage has split opinions, with some outlets condemning the premise and others praising the game’s creativity given the alarming statistics on love scams, which reportedly cost victims around 2 billion yuan in 2023. A 28-year-old male gamer expresses confidence in the creators’ boldness, suggesting that emotional fraud needs more open discussion in China.

The controversy surrounding the game has not hindered its commercial success; it remains among the top titles on PC platforms in China, notably surpassing even "Black Myth: Wukong," which has been heralded as a landmark success in the industry. The negative discourse surrounding the game also echoes a recent tragic incident involving a man known as Fat Cat, whose death following a breakup reignited discussions around the notion of 'gold diggers' and relationship dynamics in contemporary society.

Concerns among women regarding the game's impact reflect deeper societal challenges. In China, traditional views often place women in domestic roles while men are seen as providers—an outlook reinforced by male-oriented governmental messaging advocating for women to fulfill roles as caretakers. Critics argue the game only serves to exacerbate existing gender conflict, portraying women as needing to resort to manipulative tactics for survival in a male-dominated landscape.