Blockbuster Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong sold more than 10 million copies within days of its release last month, and its success has been hailed as a soft-power win for the Asian superpower.
However, as a Chinese idiom states, "the intention of the drunkard lies not on the wine, but on other purposes."
China's push into the gaming industry also serves a "harder" kind of power: the drive to bolster domestic chip manufacturing in the wake of US semiconductor export restrictions aimed at hobbling Chinese AI research.
Blockbuster gaming with Chinese characteristics
Set in the world of Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West, Black Myth: Wukong lets players control Wukong, the Monkey King, on a journey of battles and mysteries inspired by ancient Chinese mythology.
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