Action RPG Black Myth: Wukong broke records on its release in 2024. It attracted the biggest concurrent peak player count of any single-player game in Steam history and established itself as the most-viewed game on Chinese live-streaming platforms on its first day of release. Developer Game Science would go on to announce its Chinese mythology inspired action-RPG had sold over 10m copies just four days after its launch.
Black Myth: Wukong was later nominated in the Game of the Year category at the 2024 Game Awards (though it ultimately lost out to PlayStation platformer Astro Bot). It has also been credited as the game that kicked off a surge of big-budget blockbuster Chinese console and PC games in recent years. But, what of its popularity and sales now, almost two years on from Black Myth: Wukong’s record-breaking debut?
According to a recent report published by political-executive organisation the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYL), Black Myth: Wukong has now surpassed 30m copies sold. This would put it slightly behind CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077, which has sold 35m copies since its 2020 release, as of last November. Meanwhile, in April of last year, developer FromSoftware announced Elden Ring had shipped over 30m copies worldwide since its launch three years prior. So, if Black Myth: Wukong has indeed sold over 30m copies, as the CYL is claiming, it is outpacing Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring. An impressive feat, to be sure.
I asked Black Myth: Wukong developer Game Science if it could confirm those 30m sales, and while it didn’t share specific numbers, it said its game had “achieved results beyond our expectations”.
“At this time, we don’t have any new sales figures to share beyond our previously announced milestone of over 10m copies sold across all platforms within four days of launch,” Game Science told Eurogamer in its full statement. “What we can say is that Black Myth: Wukong has achieved results beyond our expectations in both China and international markets, and we remain incredibly grateful for the enthusiasm and support from players around the world.
“It’s been wonderful to see the game continue to resonate with audiences globally, and we’re deeply appreciative of the community and media partners that [have] supported the title since launch.”
Game Science is now working on the next game in its Black Myth series. Announced during Gamescom last year, Black Myth: Zhong Kui is focused on the titular ghost-catching god who wanders between hell and earth. While not a direct sequel, it’s another single-player action-RPG rooted in Chinese folklore.
We don’t yet have a release date for Black Myth: Zhong Kui, but it’s planned for PC and “mainstream console platforms”.
