A game developed in China and supported by Tencent Holdings Ltd. has rapidly climbed to become the fourth most popular title ever on Steam, achieving this milestone just hours after its launch. The action-adventure game, titled Black Myth: Wukong, is inspired by the legendary Monkey King and attracted over 1.4 million concurrent players on Steam following its global release on Tuesday. This performance surpassed other highly anticipated single-player games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring, as reported by the data tracking service SteamDB. It ranks just behind Dota 2 and Lost Ark in terms of peak concurrent players.
The game’s impressive debut bodes well for China’s gaming sector, which has faced strict regulatory challenges in recent years. This summer has seen a flurry of major game releases, including Tencent’s DnF Mobile and NetEase Inc.’s Naraka: Bladepoint Mobile. Black Myth: Wukong, developed by Hangzhou-based Game Science, represents the most significant PC launch for China to date.
The game attracted significant attention partly because it is fully developed by a local studio, unlike many of the blockbusters Tencent typically supports. Tencent holds a stake in Game Science and manages the game’s publication on its WeGame platform, which is similar to Steam.
Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at UBP, expressed optimism that this success could lead to an increase in AAA game development for PC and console in China, suggesting that regulators may become more supportive of such initiatives.
While Tencent’s stock in Hong Kong remained steady, smaller companies connected to the game saw significant increases. Huayi Brothers Media Corp.’s stock skyrocketed by the maximum 20% limit in Shenzhen due to its minor stake in Game Science. Citic Press Corp. also experienced a 20% rise amid reports of negotiations to publish associated products, including an art book.
In China, the buzz around Wukong reached unprecedented levels for the gaming industry, as it dominated discussions on the microblogging platform Weibo. Local chain Luckin Coffee issued apologies after running out of posters that were given away with iced Americanos due to high demand.
Daniel Ahmad, a senior analyst at Niko Partners, noted that the success of Wukong demonstrates the advanced capabilities of Chinese developers in creating high-quality games that can compete globally.
Wukong is also available on Sony’s PlayStation 5 and features intense combat reminiscent of FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series. Under development since 2018, the game is viewed as China’s foremost attempt at producing a major-budget PC-console title that appeals to an international audience. Previous successes have largely been in mobile gaming, such as Mihoyo’s Genshin Impact.
Chinese review sites, including IGN China, awarded Wukong a perfect score of 10 out of 10 prior to its release, while international reviewers also provided favorable assessments, albeit with some noted gameplay and translation issues.
The founders of Game Science, including Feng Ji, previously worked at Tencent before establishing their own studio, with Tencent acquiring a 5% stake in 2021. A 30-minute documentary aired by the official Xinhua news agency highlighted the development process behind Wukong, featuring interviews with the production team. Xinhua also recognized the game for its efforts to authentically depict cultural landmarks.
Feng Ji stated in the documentary, “We embody the simple love everyone has for this country and this nation.”