A game developed in China and backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. has become the fourth most popular title of all time on Steam within hours of its release – an unusually rapid rise that may help it cement its place in industry history.
Black Myth: Wukong, an action-adventure title based on the escapades of the fabled Monkey King, has garnered more than 1.4 million concurrent players on Steam shortly after its global debut on Tuesday, surpassing the popularity of other highly acclaimed single-player titles such as Cyberpunk2077 And Elden Ring, according to data tracker SteamDB. It ranked just above Dota2 And The Lost Ark by the maximum number of simultaneous players. The number of people around the world who are playing a game at the same time is counted.
The strong first-day performance may reinforce expectations that China’s $40 billion-plus gaming arena is turning a corner after years of relentless regulatory scrutiny. This summer has seen an unusually busy pipeline of major debuts, including Tencent’s DnF MobileNetEase Inc. Naraka: Bladepoint Mobile and indie studio Mihoyo ZZZDeveloped by Game Science from Hangzhou, Wukong marks the most spectacular product launch in China for the PC to date.
One reason its debut attracted excessive attention is that, unlike many other Tencent-backed blockbusters, it was developed entirely by a local studio. Tencent has invested in game science and is also handling the game’s release on its Steam-like WeGame platform. SteamDB does not track this service.
“This could encourage the development of AAA games for PC and consoles,” said Vey-Sern Ling, managing director of UBP. “Chinese regulators could also be encouraged and provide more support for the development of such games for export.”
Tencent was largely unchanged in Hong Kong. However, speculators drove up smaller firms linked to the title. Shares of Huayi Brothers Media Corp. rose around the 20 percent mark in Shenzhen, mainly due to its small indirect stake in Game Science. Citic Press Corp. also rose around the 20 percent mark after local media reported that the publisher was in talks to release products related to the game, including an art book.
In China Wukong caused a level of excitement the gaming industry hasn’t seen in years. It shot to the top of Chinese microblogging site Weibo and dominated the day as the No. 1 trending topic. Local beverage chain Luckin Coffee apologized to fans after it ran out of gaming posters to give away with its iced Americanos.
“The game’s success shows that Chinese game developers have high-end AAA game development capabilities and can compete with Western studios on the world stage,” said Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at Niko Partners.
Also available for the PlayStation 5 from Sony Group Corp. Wukong offers tough fights that match FromSoftware’s challenging Dark Souls series. The title, which has been in development since 2018, is seen by gamers and critics as China’s most serious attempt to produce a big-budget PC console blockbuster that could have global appeal. The country’s previous successes have been mainly in the mobile space, such as Genshin Influence by Mihoyo.
Major Chinese review sites, including IGN China, achieved Wukong a 10 out of 10 on the eve of its release. Their global counterparts gave mostly positive, if slightly lower, reviews, citing some issues with gameplay and translation.
Game Science’s founders, including Feng Ji, worked at Tencent before starting their own studio. According to company registration site Qichacha, Tencent bought a 5% stake in the startup in 2021.
On Monday, the official Xinhua news agency published a 30-minute documentary on how Game Science developed its trademark product, featuring interviews with the production team. Another Xinhua article praised Wukongs effort to realistically recreate cultural gems such as historic temples.
“We embody the simple love that everyone feels for this country and this nation,” Feng said in the video interview.
