'Black Myth: Wukong' becomes smash hit with over 10 million copies sold

Chinese video game "Black Myth: Wukong" has taken the gaming world by storm, selling over 10 million copies across all platforms by 9 p.m. on Friday, three days after its release on Tuesday morning, developer Game Science announced.

Considered the first Chinese-developed "Triple-A" title, "Black Myth: Wukong" topped the "most-played games" list on Steam, a leading gaming platform, merely an hour after its debut.

Game Science revealed that the game's maximum number of concurrent players across all platforms surpassed 3 million.

"Black Myth: Wukong" draws inspiration from the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West." The story follows the adventures of a monk and his three disciples, with a particular focus on Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King known for his supernatural powers and mischievous nature.

With the first weekend underway, industry experts anticipate that game sales will continue to surge.

Goldman Sachs previously projected that "Black Myth: Wukong" could achieve sales of 12 million copies on Steam, generating over 3 billion yuan (about $420 million) in revenue. In a bullish scenario, the game could reach 20 million units sold, with revenue topping 5 billion yuan.

Triple-A games, typically defined as "a lot of money, a lot of time and a lot of resources," or high-cost, high-volume, high-quality stand-alone titles, are in a market dominated by developers from countries such as Japan, the United States and France.

Pan Helin, a member of an expert committee under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the game's launch has spurred consumption in related sectors and boosted interest in traditional Chinese culture.

Celebrated for its rich cultural heritage and modern gaming aesthetics, "Black Myth: Wukong" has become a sensation transcending the gaming community. Its unprecedented success has even boosted the stock prices of some companies and spurred tourism in north China's Shanxi Province, one of the key filming locations for the game.

Although most players are from China, the game's popularity is spreading rapidly worldwide. Some enthusiastic fans have compiled over 200 pages of background material to help international players understand the story's deep cultural roots.

The global spread of gaming culture is often fueled by curiosity and a sense of mystery, two of the most powerful forms of attraction, said Yu Ranxing, co-founder of Game Science.

"We hope to show that Chinese games can also achieve world-class standards through our efforts," Yu said.

China's gaming market is evolving towards more diversified competition, and the industry is undergoing a period of growth and transformation, which Yu described as an "unprecedented opportunity."

China is the largest gaming market in the world, with sales revenue exceeding 300 billion yuan in 2023.

According to an industry report, in the first half of 2024, the sales revenue of the domestic gaming market reached 147.3 billion yuan, up 2.08 percent year on year, with the number of users in China reaching a record high of 674 million. 

Read more: Black Myth: Wukong - Secrets from 'Journey to the West'