“Black Myth: Wukong,” a new video game developed by Chinese studio Hero Games, has quickly become one of the most popular titles globally, smashing records for concurrent players on Steam, the leading online platform for PC gamers. Based on the classic 1592 Chinese novel “Journey to the West,” the game offers a modern retelling of the ancient myth, following the story of Sun Wukong, a monkey king who leads a rebellion against the heavens.
Debuting on Tuesday, “Black Myth: Wukong” quickly garnered massive attention, with more than 2.3 million concurrent players on Steam by Wednesday. Within just a few days, the game has already sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide, according to the South China Morning Post.
This meteoric rise places “Black Myth: Wukong” in second place for the highest-ever concurrent player count on Steam, trailing only “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG), which recorded over 3.2 million concurrent players in December 2017.
The success of “Black Myth: Wukong” has been widely celebrated in China, with state media, including CCTV, describing it as a significant cultural achievement. “Chinese players in the past have gone through this process of cross-cultural understanding. Now it is the turn of overseas players to learn… and understand Chinese traditional culture,” CCTV noted in a blog post on its WeChat account.
Despite its success, the game’s launch was not without controversy. Some streamers who received early copies of the game raised concerns about censorship after receiving a list of “Dos and Don’ts” from Hero Games. According to NBC, the document instructed streamers to avoid certain “trigger words” like “quarantine,” “isolation,” and “COVID-19,” as well as topics deemed as “feminist propaganda” or content that could instigate negative discourse. Hero Games did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
“Black Myth: Wukong” is considered the first AAA game developed by a Chinese studio, marking a significant milestone for the country’s gaming industry. Its blend of rich storytelling, high-quality graphics, and deep cultural roots has resonated with players around the world, positioning it as a strong contender for future accolades in the gaming industry.
