The Wukong Effect Paves the Way for the Future of China’s Premium Gaming – New NikoIQ Exclusive

This is an excerpt from our latest NikoIQ Exclusive published last week for our clients.

NikoIQ Exclusives are mini topic reports where we leverage our proprietary survey data and insights to dig deep and build analysis on timely and interesting topics.

Our latest NikoIQ Exclusive Cover Black Myth: Wukong and aims to answer the question that many ask: “Is WukongIs this success sustainable or is this a particularly opportune moment for the Chinese market? This report seeks to answer that question and outline what Chinese and Western developers can learn from its massive appeal and success Black Myth: Wukong when working with the Chinese market.

Inside the Rise of Chinese Blockbuster Game Black Myth: Wukong

Over the past decade, China’s video game industry has been largely driven by free-to-play (F2P) live service titles such as League of Legends And Genshin Impactwith F2P gaming accounting for around 90% of all player spending by 2023. China is also a mobile-first country with mobile gaming accounting for around 68.7% of all player spending and 90% of all gamers in the country last year. Due to mobile and market dynamics that have historically been driven by F2P titles, success Black Myth: Wukonga title created by a relatively unknown game developer and setting many global video game records, has caught the attention of the gaming world.

According to Niko Partners’ China Games & Streaming Tracker, BMythical flaws: Wukong dominated the game live streaming landscape in China, debuting as the #1 most watched game on its launch day, beating all other titles and rivaling Honor of Kings over a two week period. In fact, since Niko started tracking Chinese game streaming data until July 2020, Black Myth: Wukong was the only new title launch to receive more views and viewers than either of them League of Legends, Honor of Kingsor Genshin Impact.

The success of this game can be attributed to several key factors.

1. Powerful disclosure: Black Myth: Wukong first launched in August 2020 with its debut trailer generating over 50 million views on Bilibili. Its virality was driven by its uncompromising approach to high-quality graphics and RPG gameplay, with many gamers stating that it looked like a next-generation game. The powerful reveal has built hype around the game’s release, with additional trailers and teasers over the next four years helping drive pre-orders.
2. Familiarity with the story: The game is based on Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels that is well known to everyone in the country. While there have been many games based on Journey to the West in the past, this is the first game to provide a high-fidelity experience with locations and characters painstakingly recreated in the game. Black Myth: Wukong builds on this rich legacy and serves as a sequel to Journey to the West, feeding the imagination of many Journey to the West fans who are wondering what will happen next. This adaptation breathes new life into the beloved novel while remaining true to its essence. Cultural pride and a strong identity play an important role in driving the game’s success in China.
3. Availability on Steam: Although the game was officially approved by the NPPA for distribution in China, and launched on Tencent’s WeGame, the majority of sales came from the international version of Steam. The reason is, Steam is the most popular PC game distribution platform in the country, used by 79.5% of PC gamers who buy premium games. The platform operates in a gray area, but it is currently completely accessible without a VPN and provides access to both approved and unapproved games.
4. Regional pricing and propensity to pay: Premium games have traditionally been a hard sell in China, with piracy playing a big role in the 2000s, and a lack of willingness to spend money up front in the 2010s. Indie games should usually be priced under RMB 100 ($14) and AAA games under RMB 200 ($28) for mass acceptance. With the average monthly salary of a gamer in China estimated to surpass $1,000, and a growing tendency to pay up front for entertainment, more than 15 million people in China were willing to pay RMB 268 ($38) for the game in the first month. The game is still priced lower than in the US at $60 and we note that regional pricing is important in China given purchasing power parity considerations.
5. Social media, streaming and wider impact: Word of mouth has played a huge role in the game, both pre-launch when new trailers are released, and also post-launch on social media platforms. The game is also in demand by a large number of streamers, with the game accounting for 27% of all game content streamed (hours) on DouYu, Huya, and Bilibili in the first two weeks. This led to a spontaneous hardware upgrade cycle as gamers upgraded their PCs and bought PS5s. Game Science has also partnered with brands like Luckin Coffee and even the Shanxi Tourism Board, as many of the real-world locations in the game are in Shanxi, which has caused the game to reach phenomenal status.

The key question then is: Do Black Myth: Wukong a success story that other domestic game developers can only emulate in the Chinese market, or is this something that global game developers can learn from and capitalize on?

Clients who subscribe to NikoIQ can see how we answered these questions and read a full in-depth look at the success of Black Myth: Wukong in the NikoIQ Exclusive portal.

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