Tencent-Backed Video Game ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ Creates History

“Black Myth: Wukong” became the fourth most popular title ever on Steam within hours of its launch. Inspired by the classical Chinese novel “Journey to the West”, the video game topped Steam’s most-played games ranking with 1.4 million concurrent players just hours after its global debut on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.

SteamDB said this game outperformed popular single-player titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring. By peak concurrent players, which refers to the number of individuals playing a game at the same time worldwide, it ranks just above Dota 2 and Lost Ark.

The first trailer of the action role-playing game was released four years ago in 2020. As a high-budget Chinese title, the game gained global attention. According to Reuters, pre-orders began on June 8, and the game topped Steam’s China sales list for the week of August 6 to 13. The game launch made it trending on social media on Tuesday.

Gameplay

Players take control of the game’s protagonist, Sun Wukong, a fabled monkey king. Preview footage astonished watchers with the character’s realistic fur and skin and the game’s fluent animation.

Watch the official gameplay trailer of “Black Myth: Wukong”:

Black Myth will be available initially on PCs and PlayStation 5, followed by a version for Xbox Series consoles. After presales began on June 10 at a starting price of 298 Hong Kong dollars ($38), the game soon became a bestseller on the Steam platform for PC titles, attracting players from China and worldwide.

According to CGTN, at least 400 million yuan (about $56 million) have been invested in the game, which has been meticulously developed for over six years. This game launch comes with a revolution in China’s gaming industry. According to official industry figures, smartphone games dominate the market, accounting for around 73% of total sales in the first half of this year.