China's first blockbuster video game lifts hopes for its industry

Sales, global recognition mark turnaround after recent gaming regulatory crackdown

- Lim Min Zhang

BEIJING Gaming enthusiast Yang Jingyan was among hundreds of thousands of Chinese who played China's first blockbuster video game, Black Myth: Wukong, on the first day of its release on Aug 20.

He had been looking forward to the action role-playing game featuring the hero Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, ever since it was announced in 2020 by its developer, Shenzhen-headquartered studio Game Science.

To him, the wait was worth it.

What impressed Mr Yang was not just the game's fluid combat gameplay and elaborate character designs, but also its attention to Chinese culture and mythology, such as the use of narration in the form of Chinese opera.

"In my eyes, it is by no means inferior to other AAA games that I've played," said Mr Yang, 25, a master's student in Chinese medicine in Beijing.

Wukong is China's first AAA game an industry term referring to high-budget, high-profile titles by well-known publishers - a field traditionally dominated by American and European studios.

The power of the world's largest gaming market meant that within a day of its release, Wukong surged to become the most played single player game ever on Steam, a popular video game distribution platform. Nearly 90 per cent of its players are from China, where it generated significant buzz.