PS5’s Astro Bot beat Black Myth: Wukong and others to win Game of the Year (GOTY) trophy at The Game Awards 2024, and it looks like Game Science and its fans aren’t taking it well. Over the weekend, a complaint letter of sorts from the studio’s CEO surfaced online not long after Black Myth: Wukong fans carried out a review bombing campaign against Baldur’s Gate 3.
Why Black Myth: Wukong devs and fans are upset over not winning GOTY
Reports of Chinese players review bombing Baldur’s Gate 3 on Steam first cropped up on Saturday. As reported by MP1st, Black Myth: Wukong fans weren’t happy with Larian Studio head Sven Vincke’s GOTY presentation speech.
Prior to handing out the award, Vincke had stressed that games shouldn’t solely be made for profit. His speech appears to have been mistranslated somehow, with Chinese players terming it “hypocritical.”
Then, a Weibo post by Game Science Feng Ji made rounds on Sunday, in which he expressed frustration over Black Myth: Wukong not winning GOTY. The dev took issue with what he views as lack of transparency over how winners are decided, and while he is happy with the two awards he did take home Thursday night, Feng Ji doesn’t think Black Myth: Wukong got the recognition that it deserved.
MP1st’s article covering the issue went viral on X, where a user pointed out that video game writer and streamer Alanah Pearce also discussed witnessing a Game Science dev crying at TGA 2024 after Astro Bot was crowned GOTY winner.
What a mess!