Video Game About Gold Diggers Fuels Debate

A new Chinese video game, "Revenge on Gold Diggers," has ignited a fierce debate on sexism in China, just weeks after its June release. The live-action title casts male protagonists as victims of manipulative women seeking their money, with player choices dictating the storyline.

The game quickly topped the sales list on the gaming platform Steam but was met with immediate controversy. Critics slammed it for reinforcing insulting gender stereotypes, while supporters argued it served as a caution against "love scams." The intense backlash led the creators to quietly rename it "Emotional Anti-Fraud Simulator" the following day.

However, the damage was done. The game's lead director, Hong Kong filmmaker Mark Hu, has since been banned from several Chinese social media platforms. Despite the creators' insistence that they never intended to "target women" but rather facilitate "open dialogue about emotional boundaries and the grey zones in modern dating," this rationale has been largely rejected.

Xu Yikun, an artist who found the game deeply offensive, accused the developers of employing "a classic business model that thrives on generating content that sparks debate and divisions." She, like other critics, argues that the very term "gold digger" is inherently misogynistic, "a label that's used, all too often, on women," even for minor acts like accepting a drink.

Divided Opinions and Soaring Sales

Some players, however, view the criticism as overblown. Zhuang Mengsheng, 31, who used a pseudonym to speak to the BBC, stated, "The game isn't trying to say that all women are gold diggers... I don't find it targeting either gender. Both women and men can be gold diggers." Yet, all the "gold diggers" depicted in the game are women, shown scheming to receive lavish gifts and money, with one character even stating, "Want to know if a man loves you? See how much he spends."

The game has also divided local media. A Hubei province newspaper criticised it for "labelling an entire gender as fraudsters," while Beijing Youth Daily praised its "creativity," citing the financial impact of love scams, which reportedly amounted to around 2 billion yuan ($279m; £204m) in 2023, according to the National Anti-Fraud Centre.

Despite the controversy, sales of the game have continued to soar, making it one of China's top ten PC titles, even surpassing the reportedly most successful Chinese game of all time, Black Myth: Wukong. One 28-year-old man commented, "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? I actually thought the game's creators are very bold. These issues [like emotional fraud] aren't widely discussed enough in China."

Perpetuating Problematic Gender Norms

Some online speculation suggests the game is inspired by the real-life tragedy of a Chinese man, known as Fat Cat, who died by suicide last year after a breakup. His death sparked an intense online discussion, where the term "gold digger" was widely used, with some accusing his ex-girlfriend of exploitation, though police have dismissed these allegations.

Women who spoke to the BBC expressed concern that the video game perpetuates problematic gender norms in China, where society often expects women to prioritise marriage and family over professional success, aligning with official rhetoric from the male-dominated Chinese Communist Party. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly called on women to embrace roles as "good wives and mothers," and the government has clamped down on gender equality activists.

One anonymous woman feared the game "fans hostility between men and women" and "casts women, once again, as the inferior gender who have to somehow find ways to please men to earn their livelihoods."