China-made Monkey King video game causes a frenzy on global debut
Black Myth: Wukong, the first Chinese-made AAA game, created a frenzy on its global debut on Tuesday.
The action role-playing game of the Monkey King Wukong, based on the Chinese legend "Journey to the West," could be a milestone in gaming history to boost the domestic gaming market and the digital economy. It highlights the growing influence of Chinese game developers on the international stage and the potential of Chinese culture to captivate a global audience.
Black Myth: Wukong, developed by Hangzhou-based Game Science, made its global debut on Tuesday morning on platforms including Steam, PlayStation and Tencent's WeGame, with a starting price of 268 yuan (US$38).
Within hours of its release, it attracted over 1.5 million players and was trending on social media with high rankings on game review platforms.
By 8pm, over 3 million copies have been sold on Steam. With addition sales on other platforms, the total number of copies sold exceeded 4.5 million, totaling over 1.5 billion yuan (US$211 million) in sales.
A number of hands-on events were held on Tuesday with tech vendors of computers, chips and TVs. A co-branded coffee by the game and Luckin sold out.
It's a milestone in China-made games, both on completion and average levels, said Xie Zhugong, a media partner and a veteran game fan.
WeChat user Xiao Shen commented: "I am excited that China has finally made its own 3A (game) masterpiece, even better than those from big names like EA, CDPR, and Capcom. It's the game of the year of 2024."
The game's standard of all indicators are top-notch, covering plot, graphics, modeling, systems, combat and music, Shen added.
Third-party review platforms IGN China and Sina's Gamersky gave the game scores of 10 out of 10. By Tuesday night, the game topped Steam's most played and best selling rankings.
Chinese theme is a hit
The game brings China's story, culture and landscapes to the world stage, with the latest modern technologies.
China's legendary "Journey to the West" stories can be presented in a better and more revitalized way for modern audiences, Feng Ji, founder of Game Science and the game's producer, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency. The video interview broadcast on Bilibili gained 137,000 likes and was widely spread online.
The development cost of each hour of gameplay of Black Myth: Wukong exceeded 20 million yuan, with the entire development process spanning seven years, enabling movie-quality visuals in both static lighting and dynamic effects, Feng said previously.
In a trial play in Shanghai, several Nvidia GPU computers showcased full ray-tracing effects like realistic water reflections of forests and stones in the game, with cinematic image quality.
According to Nvidia, market leader in AI and graphic computing, players can enjoy the full ray tracing experiences only on GeForce RTX 40 GPUs with DLSS 3 technology.
Game scenes from Chinese landscapes and sites include the Dazu and Anyue Grottoes in Sichun, and temples in Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces. The game also boosted related destination searches such as Datong in Shanxi Province, Trip.com said on Tuesday.
Hands-on experience in Shanghai
Several game-playing and marketing events were held nationwide, including in Shanghai.
In the new Video Game Museum of Caopa in Shanghai, Black Myth: Wukong featuresd in several game trial playing events held by TV giant Hisense and computer vendor Acer, and in themed products sold in the museum's shops.
More than dozen computers, featuring Nvidia's latest 4090 GPUs, and several Hisesen's TVs, were in use at the site.
Xiaolin, a young machinery designer, tried the game for more than an hour.
"The game scenes and China themes fully meet my expectations," Lin told Shanghai Daily. He said the Wukong game was more difficult than Monster Hunter and Assassin's Creed. He also complained that the voice of small monsters are "too noisy."
The trial will last until Thursday, with online applications required in the game museum's WeChat account.