Zhou Xin

My Take | Why China’s video gaming industry needs more titles like Black Myth: Wukong

Wukong’s commercial and political success in China has boosted the country’s struggling video gaming industry

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A poster of the video game Black Myth: Wukong seen in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province. Photo: Xinhua

Zhou Xin

Published: 7:00am, 27 Aug 2024Updated: 1:11pm, 27 Aug 2024

China has long had an uneasy relationship with video games.

On the one hand, the video gaming industry has been the subject of scrutiny by authorities – just three years ago, an official newspaper had accused the sector of churning out “spiritual opium” for Chinese youth. On the other hand, a boom in the industry in recent years has made games a lucrative business.

But that tension magically dissolved with the arrival of Black Myth: Wukong, probably the most successful video game ever made in China. The so-called AAA title, which took “a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of resources” to make, has not only been a huge success commercially, but also politically.

Over 10 million copies of the game have been sold since its launch on August 20, paying developers and investors handsome returns. But the biggest win is on the political side, as state-run media outlets shower the title with more praise than any other video game has ever received in the country.

The government has many reasons to endorse Wukong. The game is, first of all, totally Chinese. Its plot is adapted from Journey to the West, one of the four greatest works of Chinese classic literature. Its central protagonist, the Monkey King, is a household name in the country. The game contains images of real Chinese temples and relics, and plays Chinese folk music in the background.

For many players, the game is an unprecedented digital masterpiece that is steeped in Chinese culture. Its popularity among overseas players has fanned hopes that the game could become a powerful tool for boosting China’s soft power on the global stage.

Wukong has broken long-standing norms in the domestic game industry.