Black Myth: Wukong has taken the gaming industry by storm since its release, becoming China’s most successful release of all time. Released on August 20, Black Myth: Wukong has become one of the fastest-selling games ever, selling over 20 million copies in its first month (as of September 26). The game demonstrates China’s efforts to become a major player in the console and PC gaming industry, which has been typically dominated by Japan, the US, and European countries.
Black Myth: Wukong has captured gamers worldwide
Triple-A is a classification term used for video games with the highest development budgets and levels of promotion and many have dubbed Wukong as China’s first domestically developed triple-A game (however, some would argue that Genshin Impact was China’s first and most influential triple-A game). The global success of Black Myth: Wukong can be seen by its huge user numbers, with the game having the highest all-time peak concurrent users of any single-player game on Steam, reaching 2,415,714 on 22 August. This is also the second-highest all-time peak for concurrent users of any game, dethroning Palworld and Counter-Strike 2.
Outside of mobile gaming, China is greatly outshined by Japan in the Eastern gaming industry and has struggled to establish itself as a dominant force. Wukong has the potential to blaze a new path for single-player games developed in China. The game’s success highlights a shift in the gaming industry, with Eastern narratives outside of Japan gaining popularity and respect from the global console and PC gaming community.
The Chinese folklore within Black Myth: Wukong resonates worldwide
Black Myth: Wukong brings Chinese mythology to a global audience. Although the events of the game take place sometime after the events of the great Chinese novel, Journey to the West, the game offers players a reimagined version of the novel’s world. While the main character, dubbed “the destined one” was created specifically for the game, along with several side characters, many of the game’s major characters are pulled directly from Journey to the West.
Black Myth: Wukong not only introduces the wider world to Chinese folklore but it also tells a story that has deeply resonated with domestic gamers. The economic impacts of the game in China can be seen mainly in e-commerce and tourism. The release of the game drove video game sales up 130% on Alibaba Taobao compared to the previous week. In the lead-up to the game’s release, the PS5 became the most popular gaming device on TMall for several consecutive days, with console sales doubling year-on-year, according to WPIC. Chinese provinces that are heavily featured in the game, such as the Shanxi province, have also seen a significant spike in tourism.
Black Myth: Wukong has brought about technological innovation within gaming
The game uses cutting-edge graphics technology to bring an immersive and visually stunning experience to players. The key component behind the game’s stunning graphics is Unreal Engine 5, the renowned game engine created by Epic Games. The latest version of Unreal Engine 5 introduced key features that were essential in bringing the game world to life such as Lumen Global Illumination and Nanite Virtualized Geometry. The game has also attracted the attention of NVIDIA, who demoed the game at Gamescom using its GPUs. It also announced that Wukong would be a part of the GeForce Now cloud gaming service, allowing gamers to play without download times. IT company, Colorful Technology, also collaborated with Nvidia to introduce a special edition ‘iGame GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Advanced Black Myth: Wukong’ graphics card. Black Myth: Wukong was not only a global success but also a triumph of Chinese cultural storytelling and a testament to the rising influence of Chinese game developers. The game represents China’s efforts to reestablish a flourishing console and PC gaming industry despite pressures from foreign competition. Whether or not Wukong is considered the game of the year by 2024’s conclusion, it has undoubtedly set the stage for China to become a dominant force in triple-A game development.
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