Black Myth: Wukong is one of the fastest-selling games of all time

Game Science revealed today that its recently released Soulslike RPG Black Myth: Wukong has sold 10 million units across all platforms. For context, the game launched three days ago on August 20. The game also boasts one of Steam’s highest concurrent player counts of all time, and, according to some reports, it is even driving high sales of PlayStation 5 consoles in China.

Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad said in a post on X: “This makes [Black Myth: Wukong] one of the fastest selling games of all time, surpassing Elden Ring and Hogwarts Legacy in the same timeframe.” He elaborated in a blog post that the game is selling particularly well in China, thanks in part to the accessibility of Steam as a platform and also the game’s subject matter: “The game … draws heavily from Chinese mythology and is based on the classic novel Journey to the West, featuring Sun Wukong, or ‘The Monkey King,’ as its protagonist. The high-end graphics, transformational (literally) gameplay, and cultural connection resonated strongly with Chinese gamers…”

The game’s success is also measured in player count — its currently the most-played single-player title in Steam’s history, according to SteamDB, and is second in most-played ever only to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Consultant Daniel Camillo said in an X post that PS5 sales are extremely high in China’s largest electronics market thanks in large part to Wukong. Niko Partners’ CEO Lisa Cosmas Hanson also confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg that Wukong is pushing high console sales on Alibaba.

The title has not been without its problems, however. Game Science has come under scrutiny for its founders’ previous sexist remarks — to which the studio responded “No comment,” when asked by PC Gamer. Multiple gamers also report Wukong has performance issues, for which Game Science apologized in a post on the game’s Steam page. However, none of this seems to have cut into the game’s sales.

Ahmad noted in his blog post: “In conclusion, Black Myth: Wukong is more than just a one-off success story, it represents the growing capabilities and ambitions of Chinese game development studios and their ability to compete on the global stage.”