Black Myth: Wukong was finally released on August 20, the same date it was announced in 2020. The four-year wait contributed to the instant success of the game, although other factors were also at play.
The premium graphics, engrossing storyline, and the controversy that surrounded the game upon release also contributed to the global attention that Black Myth is currently receiving.
The crypto connection
One of the most interesting aspects of Black Myth’s success is that the crypto community adopted the game instantly despite it having no connection to the blockchain. Several meme coins inspired by the game have been minted, including $Wukong Coin which experienced a 3980% surge in 24 hours.
Australia likely contributed to this surge, given how popular meme coins are here. Michael Graw, who finds the best Bitcoin casino options in Australia, states that Dogecoin – the original meme coin – remains one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the country. So, it’s likely that crypto gamblers and investors bought into the $Wukong coin.
The game’s relevance to the crypto community stands as a testament to the importance of digital currency to the gaming community. It’s the reason that non-blockchain games end up with their own cryptocurrencies.
The second-most popular Steam game ever
Black Myth officially became Steam’s second-most popular game ever within 24 hours of its release. It currently remains in the number two spot, above Dota 2 and below Counter Strike 2. While the game has a long way to go to reach and stay in the number one spot, the game has already become the most popular Chinese game ever.
During the game’s initial peak, it had 2.1 million gamers playing it concurrently, having sold a total of 4.5 million copies.
What is the game about?
Black Myth is a role-playing game influenced by Journey to the West, which is a classic Chinese novel. In the game, players take on the role of a monkey who possesses supernatural powers. This monkey is inspired by the character Sun Wukong in the Chinese novel.
The book has served as inspiration for Chinese art for centuries. Everything from Dragon Ball Z to the Forbidden Kingdom can be traced back, in some way, to Journey to the West.
Why has Black Myth been so popular?
There are several reasons why Black Myth has become one of the most successful Steam games of all time.
Firstly, the four-year wait definitely helped build anticipation for the game. One of the original teaser trailers currently has 872k views on YouTube, suggesting that the game has received a lot of attention over the last four years.
Interestingly, Black Myth is China’s first-ever AAA release. This classification is normally used to describe games that have been developed by a mid or major publisher and that feature premium graphics and gameplay. It has been regularly used to describe such games as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and League of Legends.
So, the fact that the game carries this classification has definitely helped spread anticipation throughout the gaming community.
The hype, of course, started in China, which has one of the biggest and most passionate gaming communities in the world.
China makes more in gaming revenue than any other country. This is due to the wide variety of Chinese-made games that are popular exclusively in China, as well as the fact that Chinese gamers earn more from esports than any other nationalities.
As of 2024, Chinese esports players have made a total of $297,920,217. Plus, four in ten Chinese gamers tune in to esports livestreams. This success, combined with the high volume of gamers in the country, provided the springboard for Black Myth’s success.
The controversy that surrounds Black Myth
The game’s success comes despite the controversy that surrounded it prior to its release. This controversy centered around a list of topics that an affiliated company requested streamers not to discuss while playing the game.
This list included vague topics such as politics, China’s gaming policies, and, most controversially, ‘feminist propaganda’. The affiliate company did not do a good job of defining what it meant by any of these topics, leaving them open to interpretation.
In a way, this unusual request has worked in the game’s favor as a marketing ploy. It garnered plenty of media attention and also inspired Twitch streamers to release videos that purposely included the supposedly banned topics of discussion.
These videos have, in turn, promoted the game further. The Chinese social media platform Weibo has banned several accounts for discussing the prohibited topics in relation to the game.
