“Black Myth: Wukong Achieves Record-Breaking Launch on Steam”

Nicole Carpenter, a senior investigative reporter focusing on labor issues in the gaming industry, reports that ‘Black Myth: Wukong’, recently debuted by Game Science, has achieved the second-highest concurrent player count in the history of Steam, with over 2.15 million users. Within this astonishing surge, the game has surpassed competition from ‘Elden Ring,’ ‘Dota 2,’ ‘Cyberpunk 2077,’ ‘Counter-Strike 2,’ and ‘Palworld,’ and has been well-reviewed, currently scoring 82 on Metacritic. Alongside its availability on Steam, ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ has been released on PlayStation 5 and Windows PC via other platforms, including the Epic Games Store and WeGame; these platforms’ player figures have not been included in the current record.

Nearly 90% of its global player base were based in China at around 5 a.m. ET on its release date. However, the geographic distribution of players is expected to recalibrate as the United States player base becomes more active later in the day. The considerable popularity of ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ in China has revived the gaming industry’s presence on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where the game has emerged as a popular topic.

The game, based on the classic Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’, features the character of Sun Wukong, the Destined One. After debuting on PlayStation 5 and Windows PC on Aug. 20, an Xbox Series X version is expected. Despite its success, ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ has faced controversy, with publisher Hero Games asking some game streamers to avoid discussions on the Chinese video game industry and “feminist propaganda.”