The global gaming industry has witnessed an extraordinary debut with Black Myth: Wukong, which has sold 18 million copies in just two weeks. This remarkable achievement is among the fastest starts ever recorded in the gaming sector and has been a boon for its early and major investor.
Wukong represents a bold gamble for Daniel Wu, whose relatively obscure Hero Games is the largest external shareholder in the game’s developer, Game Science. Hero Games’ commitment included a significant portion of the game’s $70 million budget over six years, marking a notable investment for a Chinese project of this scale.
The action RPG, inspired by the legend of the Monkey King, has outperformed industry giants like Elden Ring and Zelda in its initial release phase. Wu anticipates that the game could achieve 30 million sales over its lifespan, boosted by an upcoming expansion, as reported by Bloomberg News.
Emerging as China’s most significant PC game, Wukong had previously gained limited attention until a visit from Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook in 2017. Wu, who escorted Cook around Hero’s Shanghai office, recalled that one of their early collaborations with Game Science caught Cook’s interest, though it did not succeed. It wasn’t until four years later that Tencent Holdings Ltd. invested in Hero’s partner, following a promising Wukong trailer.
Today, Game Science’s valuation has soared to several billion yuan, delivering a substantial return on Hero Games’ 20% stake, which was acquired for 60 million yuan ($8.5 million) in 2017. Both companies have gained prominence, demonstrating that China can produce high-budget titles comparable to Western standards.
Wu, who transitioned from a startup financier to a game developer almost a decade ago, views Wukong as more than a groundbreaking release. He and Game Science co-founder Feng Ji invested their fortunes in a title designed for consoles and PCs, diverging from China’s mobile-centric entertainment landscape.
Since its August 20 release, Wukong has set records for single-player games, surpassing Cyberpunk 2077 in popularity within China. The game has reportedly earned $700 million to date, falling only behind Call of Duty’s record $1 billion in 10 days, according to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad. Ahmad predicts that international sales will increase as the game’s global popularity grows.
State media have praised Wukong for its accurate depiction of historical and cultural sites. Wu and Feng’s willingness to risk everything for the project was crucial to its success.
“We were two drowning rats,” Wu, whose company is yet to turn a profit, reflected in an exclusive interview from his Beijing office. “We were not afraid of failure, and Feng had already mapped out his next steps. My role was to back those steps even more boldly.”
Game Science’s previous three attempts, modest free-to-play mobile games, had failed to make a significant impact. One of these, Art of War: Red Tides, received prominent placement on the iOS App Store following Cook’s visit but ultimately faltered.
As the sole investor and publishing partner, Hero Games suffered notable losses. Nevertheless, Wu did not hesitate to provide additional funding in 2018 for what would become Black Myth: Wukong. The next installment in the series, based on Chinese mythology, is already in development, with an expansion planned to further capitalize on the game’s success.
Hero Games, co-founded by Wu in 2015 after a stint at ZhenFund, initially invested in Feng and his team due to their potential. Feng’s prior experience at Tencent with the role-playing game Asura, which faced mixed reactions due to its in-game shop practices, underscored the team’s capability.
Despite the triumph of Wukong, Hero Games continues to grapple with profitability as it transitions from a publisher to a developer. Wu’s advice to his team amid the broader challenges facing China’s gaming industry, marked by economic constraints and numerous failed projects, is to embrace the potential failure of their initiatives.
“This is the most challenging year for China’s games industry ever,” Wu remarked, acknowledging the many unsuccessful games that remain largely unnoticed. Nonetheless, the success of Wukong is a significant victory that Wu hopes will ignite further interest in creating games rooted in China’s rich cultural heritage and inspire more console-focused development.
Upon experiencing a key moment in Wukong on his PlayStation 5, Wu texted Feng, expressing his emotional reaction to the game’s success.
