Journey to Success: Black Myth Wukong Breaks Records on Day One

Black Myth: WukongThe action RPG developed by Chinese studio Game Science, has had a very successful launch following its release on August 20, 2024, for PC and PS5. High sales, particularly in China, reflect the continued industrialization of Chinese game development, the increasing global influence of Chinese studios, and shifting consumer preferences in China. Black Myth: Wukong reached over 2.2 million peak concurrent users (PCCU) on Steam in its first 24 hours, making it the most popular single-player game by PCCU in the platform’s history. This game also ranked second among all PCCU games, trailing PUBG which peaked at 3.2 million.

The game, first announced in August 2020, takes heavy inspiration from Chinese mythology and is based on a classic novel Journey to the Westfeatures Sun Wukong, or the “Monkey King,” as the protagonist. The high-end graphics, transformational gameplay (literally), and cultural connection were a hit with Chinese gamers, with the debut trailer surpassing 55 million views on video platform Bilibili. This makes it the most viewed game trailer of all time on the platform. Initial interest, ongoing trailer releases, and a marketing push led more than 4 million gamers to wishlist the title on Steam before launch. It became the most desired game on the platform in early 2024.

Black Myth: WukongThe strong performance in China was primarily due to continued access to the international version of Steam, which can be accessed without a VPN. Over 93% of the 250,000 reviews on Steam are in Simplified Chinese, with 97% of those reviews being positive. The game’s immense popularity in China was further demonstrated when Steam’s download bandwidth peaked at 79.3Tbps on August 20, with Asia accounting for 82% of the amount, breaking the previous record set in 2017. Cyberpunk 2077launch day (51Tbps) in 2020.

The game received positive reviews on Steam from Chinese gamers

The success of this game is not limited to digital platforms alone. Physical editions of the game, including collector and deluxe versions, sold out in seconds on JD.com, as more than 700,000 gamers signed up for a chance to purchase the limited set of 30,000 copies. Game Science capitalized on this interest by partnering with brands like Lenovo, to ensure their PC hardware was optimized for the game, and with Luckin Coffee, for on-the-ground activations, including branded merchandise and promotional offers. The excitement surrounding these games led to increased social media chatter ahead of their launch, with 1.7 billion views on Weibo on launch day, and the games were even covered by national news programs in China. The success of Black Myth: Wukong attracted international media attention as well. Niko Partners CEO Lisa Cosmas Hanson spoke to Bloomberg about how Black Myth: Wukong driving PS5 sales and demonstrating Chinese gamers’ appetite for high-quality games

Niko Partners has been able to track the game’s success on game live streaming platforms in China using our suite of data tools. According to Niko Partners’ China Games & Streaming Tracker, Black Myth: Wukong was the most watched game on Huya, DouYu, and Bilibili on its launch day, surpassing other popular titles such as League of Legends, Honor of Kings And Value. According to our Niko Index, the game had 29 million viewers across 3 platforms on its launch day, with Bilibili accounting for around 74% of all viewers. Over $1 million was awarded/donated to streamers who played the game today. This is a record-breaking launch for a single-player game on a Chinese game live streaming platform, surpassing Cyberpunk 2077′metrics in 2020. China Games & Streaming Tracker offers an opportunity to tap into the black box of domestic streaming platforms, to support the gaming industry in understanding the most popular games, streamers and overall engagement.

Black Myth: Wukong topped China Games & Streaming Tracker as the most-watched game

The success of Black Myth: Wukong highlighting significant changes in the global video game landscape for both China-based and non-China developers.

First, the wider impact of this success cannot be ignored. This signals that Chinese studios are ready to compete directly with established Western and Japanese developers in the premium AAA space. Game Science’s transition from mobile game development to creating world-class AAA games, backed by heavyweights such as Tencent and Hero Games, is a path that many Chinese game developers have tried to follow and are increasingly successful.

Second, the game’s popularity reflects changing consumer preferences in China. According to the Niko Partners 2024 China Gamer Behavior & Market Insights Report, free games accounted for nearly 90% of total player spending last year, while mobile accounted for 68.7% of total spending and more than 90% of players. Unbanning of consoles in 2014, access to international versions of Steam, shift to digital distribution, increased tendency to pay for content, offering high-quality single-player & multiplayer games, online connection requirements (which discourage piracy), localized payment methods, and regional pricing has been a key driver of premium gaming adoption in China. In short, paid games account for a larger share of revenue every year.

Games like supervise (2016), one of the first successful premium games in China and sold over 10 million units, showing that Chinese players are willing to pay for a premium experience, and Black Myth: Wukong further strengthens this trend. While consoles have historically remained a popular market in China, despite the console ban being lifted in 2014, the PlayStation 5 sold 2x faster than its predecessor in the country and has become an established platform alongside the Nintendo Switch. A limited time deal on the PlayStation 5 running this week has led to a surge in console sales that further solidifies the changing preferences of gamers in the market.

In conclusion, Black Myth: Wukong more than just a success story, it represents the growing capabilities and ambitions of Chinese game development studios and their ability to compete on the global stage. While developers based outside of China need to recognize and embrace these new challenges, it is also an opportunity to collaborate and learn. At the same time, the game’s success as a premium game signals a broader shift in market dynamics in China, and represents an opportunity for developers based outside of China to benefit from geographic expansion and existing AA/AAA offerings.

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