Devs and analysts predict Black Myth: Wukong could change games in China – “Wukong is proof a well-made single-player game can be big”

Black Myth: Wukong has landed to absolutely massive success, to the point where it’s now the second-biggest Steam game ever when measured by concurrent player count. Analysts suggest much of that success is coming from China, and some developers reckon this could be the start of a sea change for the Chinese gaming industry.

Simon Carless of analysis group GameDiscoverCo says on Twitter that the agency’s estimates suggest 88.1% of Black Myth: Wukong owners on Steam are from China. You can back that up by taking a look at the language split of Steam reviews over on Steam Scout, which are currently 90.92% Chinese. It’s still early hours for the Wukong’s launch, but the game’s week-old benchmark tool also features 85.38% Chinese reviews according to Steam Scout.

Even if you eliminate China from the equation, the remaining 10-15% of the sales of a game with over two million concurrent players would still mark a big hit, and indeed, Wukong is a top seller across many regions on Steam. But the implications of Wukong’s success are especially big in China, as the game could open the door for more single-player titles to get the green light from Chinese developers.

Wukong just dethroned Palworld as the second-biggest game in Steam history, and Bucky – community manager for the viral ‘Pokemon with guns’ survival game – says on Twitter if the two titles went head-to-head in a gamer GOTY vote, “I’d vote for Wukong because I think this is the sort of positive change needed in the Chinese gaming world. Wukong is proof a well-made singleplayer game can be big, and not some mobile hybrid with 5,000 variations of microtransactions.” 

Baldur’s Gate 3 publishing director Michael ‘Cromwelp’ Douse notes on Twitter that a localized game that’s popular in China would see “maybe 25-40%” of its players in that region, which makes the “80+%” we’re seeing with Wukong all the more impressive. Douse says “it’s a testament what the region can do to shatter numbers when properly mobilised both regionally and internationally in one big launch.”

Douse adds that “This is really only still the beginning of major international titles developed in China (critically: having the full weight of legal, national publishing behind it as opposed to VPN grey market reliance on West). Will likely see two-three mil peak concurrents if the trend continues.”

To this day, the biggest Steam player peak of all time remains the 3.2 million set by PUBG way back in 2018, aided massively by the battle royale game’s popularity in China. If Wukong’s success continues apace, it could be the first game to challenge that record.

This all echoes what another Chinese developer – Phantom Blade Zero director ‘Soulframe’ Liang – told us earlier in 2024, back when Wukong was ‘just’ the most-wishlisted game on Steam. “Everyone is looking at Black Myth: Wukong,” Liang said. “If it can succeed in the domestic market and international market, people will be very confident about other games. I think it’s a good thing.”

Check out our Black Myth: Wukong review if you want to know what the fuss is all about.