In a groundbreaking moment for China’s gaming industry, Black Myth: Wukong, the country’s first international Triple-A game, was released on August 14 and instantly attracted players worldwide with its stunning visuals, cultural storytelling, and combat design.
Not only did it achieve record-breaking sales, but it also received positive feedback and reviews from the industry and from players alike.
Black Myth Wukong’s Success
Black Myth: Wukong is China’s first triple-A game developed by Game Science.
Based on Black Myth: Wukong’s producer, Feng Ji, ‘s interview with Chule, the game’s cost was predicted to be around three to four billion Chinese yuan, about $70 million—a relatively low cost compared to triple-A games produced in the U.S.
The game is one of the fastest-selling games in history, selling more than 10 million copies just within three days, according to IGN. It became the most-played single-player game on Steam, reaching over two million concurrent players at its peak. Currently, it ranks second among all Steam games for the highest number of concurrent players, just behind PUBG, which peaked at over three million. This puts it ahead of recent popular releases like Palworld, Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and Elden Ring.
Unlike other PC and console games, Gamalytic’s statistics showed that 80% of Wukong’s players are in mainland China, although the country is not the main market for PC and console games.
Cultural Storytelling from China
The game’s release is not only an important moment in the gaming industry, but it is also an important cultural moment for Chinese players who grew up with the story of Wukong.
In 2020, they launched their first promotional video on Bilibili, which received more than 61 million views. Many players have followed the game since then, and it seems the game successfully met their expectations.
“I am very familiar with the story Journey to the West. I know all versions of the story, such as the 1986 film and the animation, and local TV stations’ versions since I was young,” said Liam He, a USC junior student studying statistics. “Black Myth: Wukong’s version is after Wukong completed his journey, which works well and so I like it.”
“I only remember segments from the [original] story of Wukong,” said Charlotte Zhang, a sophomore studying design at USC. “I feel like you can play the game despite knowing the story or not, but knowing Journey to the West will give you more thoughts and feelings while playing. I can imagine myself being Wukong, and what would I do as Wukong.”
As a story heavily based on a Chinese traditional myth, Black Myth: Wukong may have lost some of its essence to international players due to translation and cultural differences.
Kaidi Kang is a third-year computer science student. He said that the translation from Chinese to English could not pass on all the meanings behind the original texts.
“I have watched streamers on Twitch and saw the translation of the game. It works, but sometimes you get more out of it, if you understand the background or understand Chinese.”
One example would be the frogs in the game. For non-Chinese players, the frog’s name ‘Lang-Li-Guhh-Lang’ may just sound like random syllables, but in the original Chinese text, it carries humor. It plays on the word ‘Lang,’ which means ‘waves’ in Mandarin, and is used to describe someone who loves flaunting.
In the game, the spells of the protagonist Destined One all came from Journey to the West, and Chinese players can correlate the spell with Wukong’s story.
“In the game, you can get vessels that help you fight the boss in the chapter. They are all from the story, and it makes much more sense if you know what the vessels are,” said He.
Bridging Cultures Through Art and Combat Design
Despite the cultural niche of the game, the combat design and artistic elements of the game resonate with many players worldwide.
In discussions on Reddit, players also mentioned their interest in Journey to the West because of the game.
“I like the music, and as a member of Crescendo and the president of a traditional instrument club, I will try to put some of them to my performance. I also plan to learn Sanxian, the one played by headless Bodhisattva,” said Alex Liu, a USC senior studying environmental studies.
Room for Improvement
Despite record-breaking numbers, Game Science, having no prior experience in producing a game of such a scale, also received negative feedback about the game’s map design, bosses’ hitbox, and bugs that players occasionally encountered.
“I don’t know why there isn’t a map, because I often get lost when exploring,” said Zhang. “But I think it’s a good game. As a design major, I really like the visual design of the game.”
“There were bugs when fighting the Hundred-Eyed Daoist, but they fixed it,” said Kang. “The invisible walls in maps are misleading. Other than that, it’s a fun game.”
The problems with invisible walls are a common complaint among players, which seemed to have compromised some exploration experience for better visual experience.
The last two chapters of the game are also significantly shorter than previous chapters, which might be a result of limited budget and time.
Still, players have high hopes for the game’s future, looking forward to a DLC, or game expansion pack, and future works.