Written by Chee-Hann Wu.
Image credit: screenshot of Minds Beneath Us by BearBone Studio.
Black Myth: Wukong was unarguably one of the most discussed games in 2024. The game is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West. Developed by the Chinese company Game Science, the game sold 20 million units in the first month and is now one of the best-selling games of all time.
The success of Black Myth: Wukong is unprecedented. It also invigorates the Chinese game industry, which has suffered from the lack of representative work, the changing government regulations restricting minors’ screen time, and censorship. In addition to compliments on its designs, gameplay mechanics and other entertainment values, the Chinese public is particularly proud of the fact that the game proves that China is just as capable of creating AAA games as those countries with a flourishing game industry, with many players claiming that the game is the best AAA game ever made. This discussion on AAA games soon sparks a heated debate among the game society.
But what exactly are AAA games?
AAA (triple-A) games refer to high-budget, high-quality video games developed by large studios. These games are known for their exceptional graphics, complex gameplay and extensive marketing campaigns—some people joking say the three As refer to a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of resources. They are typically big releases with high production values, similar to blockbuster films in the gaming world. Though debatable, Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997, is often credited as one of the first to set the standard for modern AAA games. Its success also marked a shift in the gaming industry toward treating video games as major entertainment products.
The countries that produce the most AAA games are primarily the United States, Japan, Canada, and, increasingly, several European nations like the United Kingdom, France and Poland. While China has always had a large market for the ambitious game industry, many were frustrated by the fact that it never had any successful AAA games in the past for the reasons mentioned earlier. Therefore, the rise of the Black Myth is certainly timely, particularly in regard to the emerging geopolitical tensions between China and Western countries. The game also incites the emergence of a new phenomenon—the videogame nationalism.
Meanwhile, the public in Taiwan has also joined in the heated debate. As the popularity of Black Myth grows, more and more people in Taiwan are starting to question: why doesn’t Taiwan have any AAA games? Politician and TV personality Jaw Shau-Kong criticised the misallocation of government funds, which resulted in Taiwan’s inability to make a breakthrough in the cultural industry. While many netizens on online platforms Dcard, PTT and Bahamut approached the question with criticism and sarcasm, some provided an overlook tracing Taiwan’s game history and analysed the reasons why Taiwan did not have, could not, or, perhaps, did not need a AAA game.
This question is contentious, yet the discussions surrounding the question are meaningful. It surely requires more data and comprehensive analysis to answer the question critically; however, based on observations and insights from game developers in Taiwan and the online community, it can be attributed to two aspects: funds, including government funding and support system, and the general ecosystem of the game industry in Taiwan.
Taiwan had a thriving games industry and market in the 1990s and early 2000s, when arcade machines, single-player PC games, and online games were the norm. Softstar’s Richman (1989), Xuan-Yuan Sword (1990) and The Legend of Sword and Fairy (1995) were childhood pleasures for many, and their IPs have also been popular. When console games began to dominate the market in the 2000s, Taiwanese game companies lacked the funds and resources to keep up with the trend. They turned their attention to mobile games, the distribution of foreign games and the Chinese market, which eventually led to the decline of Taiwan’s local game industry. In the past decade, most of the familiar veteran game developers have engaged more in agency and licensing work.
Based on the consumer survey on digital games released by the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) in July 2024, as many as 69% of Internet users in Taiwan have the habit of playing digital games, with mobile games (77%) being the most popular type of game. The number is similar to last year. Bahamut GNN News’s survey on the most popular mobile games released in 2023 further indicates that very few are by Taiwanese developers.
However, despite the decline in original works from major developers and companies, there has been an increase in high-quality single-player games from independent developers and studios in Taiwan. For example, SIGONO’s sci-fi game Opus: The Day We Found Earth (2015) received a 9/10 rating on Steam. Red Candle Games’ Detention (2017) and Devotion (2019) continue to attract attention from local and international gamers, as well as non-players. They also ushered in an era of “Taiwanese horror games”, incorporating the aesthetics of folk culture, ghost stories and actual history. These games include Pagui (2019/2022) and Halflight (2020), which reference the 228 Incident and White Terror, and The Bridge Curse (2022/2024) and The Tag-Along-Obsession (2024), which are based on Taiwanese folk ghost stories.
Minds Beneath Us (2024), released a month before Black Myth, is a sci-fi game by BearBone Studio about a world “where humans are exploited as computing devices for AI”. When some netizens criticised Taiwan’s lack of talent in creating AAA games, many game lovers hit back, saying that “those who blame the lack of talent of Taiwanese developers are the ones who have never played games” and citing Minds Beneath Us as an example of a high-quality game developed in Taiwan. As of October 2024, it has a rating of 10/10 on Steam and has received extensive positive feedback from players around the world with its mesmerising cinematic visuals, cyberpunk-style aesthetics and intriguing story.
Also with a 10/10 rating, Nine Sols is Red Candle Game’s new release in May 2024. It is set in a beautifully crafted, cyberpunk-infused, and Asian fantasy-inspired futuristic world inspired by Taoism and mythologies, which the developer describes as Taopunk. Nine Sols takes players on a journey through the realm of New Kunlun. In the game, ancient gods known as the Sols rule a mysterious civilisation, and players take on the role of Yi, a skilled warrior on a mission of vengeance. Nine Sols blends elements of classic side-scrollers with a compelling narrative about family, destiny and resistance against oppression.
These games are much smaller in production scale and, therefore, receive less attention from the general public. However, they also show that there are many different ways of determining what makes a good game. In fact, AAA games are not always a guarantee of success. Concord, a multiplayer first-person shooter game published by Sony, was released three days after Black Myth in August 2024. In contrast to the huge success of its fellow AAA game, Concord had unprecedentedly low sales for a project of its size. It was shut down after just two weeks, despite being in development for over eight years and with an alleged budget of over 400 million US dollars.
That said, it is a misconception that only AAA works can prove the value of Taiwan’s game industry. It is undeniable that the ability to produce AAA games is an indication of a nation’s cultural, economic and technological power; however, given Taiwan’s domestic market and the political challenges of promoting these works internationally, there are more questions to consider. Instead of asking why Taiwan doesn’t have AAA games, the real questions should be about what we want for Taiwan’s game industry, what the strength of Taiwanese games is, how to get resources (especially money), how to grow the market, and how to expand the influence of original IPs, and so on.
These tasks certainly cannot be carried out by game developers and players alone but require the involvement of the government and a review of related policies to improve the efficiency of resource distribution and allocation, as one of the main reasons why the game industries in South Korea, Japan and China have been able to flourish is due to government support. In fact, the Administration for Digital Industries, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency have announced the collaboration to consolidate inter-ministerial resources to link up the subsidy and investment mechanisms of both sides to support game development in April 2024. It is hoped that this initiative will bring more attention to Taiwan’s game industry in the future.
I want to conclude with an interesting anecdote shared by the developer of Nine Sols in an interview.
Nine Sols‘ text is extracted from the team’s internal Google Drive spreadsheet, so if someone changes it online, the subtitles in the game will change in real time. Two or three days after the game’s release, the team discovered that their spreadsheet contained unidentified changes made by non-team members. An unauthorised Italian translation had been added to the account by an unknown person and released. However, after reviewing the content, the team discovered that the hacker’s “unpaid translations” were inadvertently correct. They eventually contacted the person and discovered that the hacker was simply an enthusiastic player who loved the game and wanted to help make it accessible to Italian speakers.
Although never a worldwide phenomenon, these independent games have the potential to have their group of die-hard fans. To truly support Taiwan’s gaming environment and industry, we must appreciate and experience these works of art.
Chee-Hann Wu is an assistant professor faculty fellow (postdoc) in Theatre Studies at NYU. She is drawn to performance by and with nonhumans including but not limited to objects, puppets, ecology, and technology. Her research focuses on nonhuman life, being, and ability to embody and reenact memories that have previously been suppressed. Chee-Hann’s current book project considers puppetry a mediated means to narrate Taiwan’s cultural and sociopolitical development, colonial and postcolonial experiences, as well as Indigenous histories. Her most recent work explores video games and VR through the lens of theatre and performance.
This article was published as part of a special issue on ‘Gaming Taiwan’.
Taiwan Insight 