What You Need to Know About China’s First Successful Video Game
By Movieguide® Contributor
Video game “Black Myth: Wukong” made waves in the industry after becoming the first Chinese-made game to find immense success with a worldwide audience.
The game, which was released earlier this month, was instantly popular on the game distribution platform, Steam. It peaked at 2.2 million concurrent players a day after its release, making it the most popular game on the site at the time and rising to over 2.4 million concurrent players the next day. Selling at $59.99, the game has already made hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
Though some Chinese-made games have found general success in the mobile game industry, “Black Myth: Wukong” represents the first game from the region to see this level of success with console and PC gamers.
“Black Myth: Wukong” roughly takes players through the 16th-century Chinese epic “Journey to the West.” It portrays the Chinese myth of a group of magical apes that can shapeshift into other animals — including humans — as they go on a journey to discover the six relics of Wukong which give the animals new abilities.
Though the game has proven to be successful, it faced criticism during its prerelease marketing phase when reviewers and streamers were given guidelines on topics they were not allowed to discuss while playing the game such as the pandemic or “feminist propaganda.”
“By using the game key and creating content, you acknowledge that you have been informed of the following guidelines, and any statements you make are your own and not related to our marketing team,” an email from the developer that was sent to anyone given early access to the game reads, per NBC News.
While this regulation of the game is viewed as improper by industry standards, the game’s success upon release suggests it had little impact on sales.
The game’s popularity, however, has no bearing on how appropriate the game is to play. Its emphasis on Chinese folklore and deployment of magic throughout its combat system leads to an unequivocally anti-Christian message. Furthermore, the game’s emphasis on violence makes the game unsuitable for children and teens. Movieguide® would advise parents extreme caution when considering whether to buy this game.
Movieguide® previously reported on the video game industry:
From TV shows and movies to Nintendo’s Super Mario World theme park opening at Universal Studios, gaming seems more popular than ever – and it is.
During the pandemic, gaming saw a stark rise in popularity. As people were forced to stay home, many gravitated towards gaming as a way to fight boredom and stay connected with friends. In the three years since, gaming has maintained its high popularity, a trend that is likely to continue for a long time.
Despite its popularity, gaming is often still viewed as a fringe interest rather than a robust, global industry. However, a look into the industry reveals just how popular video games are in the world of entertainment.
In 2020, the gaming industry grossed $180 billion in revenues. That was more than the global movie industry from the previous year ($100 billion) and all North American sports ($75 billion) combined. The high industry numbers continued in 2021 and 2022 with gaming grossing $192.3 billion and $184.4 billion respectively. Roughly half of 2022’s revenue came from mobile gaming, while PC and console games brought in the rest.
