Zhong Kui übernimmt von Monkey King, und Game Science bringt die "Black Myth-Serie" mit.

At the opening night of the Gamescom, "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" (hereinafter referred to as "Zhong Kui") made a grand finale appearance.

Before the release of this 1 minute and 56 - second short video, what the outside world was expecting was the DLC of "Black Myth: Wukong" (hereinafter referred to as "Wukong"). Since the official release of "Wukong" on August 20, 2024, the content of the DLC has been spread vividly in the gaming circle. From players to various game media, people are quite certain that the developer, Game Science, will present the stories of Lion Camel Ridge, Nine - Headed Insect, and Daughter Country on the anniversary of the game's launch, continuing the pre - destiny of the journey to the west.

Image from the Internet

But this studio clearly doesn't just want to do what is expected. After the PV of "Zhong Kui" was unveiled, Feng Ji, the CEO of Game Science, posted on Weibo, quoting the words of Iwata Satoru, the fourth president of Nintendo: "There is no future on the existing extension line."

Within 12 hours after the official Bilibili account of Black Myth released this PV, it got nearly ten million views, 720,000 likes, and 370,000 coin donations. The bullet comments were all floating with one word: Ah?

The PV starts with two exhausted little demons, leading to two big demons carrying a giant demon - slaying sword that seems to have no end. Beside the big demons is a magnificent and powerful tiger, and on the tiger rides Zhong Kui with a leopard - headed and round - eyed face, an iron - faced and bearded appearance.

Screenshot of the PV

Regarding the appearance of Zhong Kui riding a tiger, Yang Qi, the co - founder and art director of Game Science, posted on Weibo, saying, "I had a dream last month. I dreamed of a strange man with a black face and a red beard, leading a tiger and standing guard on the balcony. I felt that this was not an ordinary thing, so I wrote it down after waking up suddenly. In a blink of an eye, half a year has passed, and this scene is finally completed. Yes, the person in the story is exactly Zhong Kui, Zhong Kui riding a tiger. I don't remember Zhong Kui riding a tiger in my impression, but after waking up from the dream and checking the information, I found that in Ming Dynasty paintings, the image of Zhong Kui riding a tiger was quite common. It seems that this matter is really not simple..."

Screenshot of the PV

Regarding questions such as why the production of the DLC for "Wukong" is postponed and the studio's plan for "Zhong Kui", the official website of "Zhong Kui" has published some official responses as follows:

Q: Why choose to unveil "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" now?

Of course, it's because every August 20th, Game Science has to report the latest work progress to everyone.

Considering that the project folder was just created not long ago and there is no sign of the actual game yet. In order to maintain the normal development rhythm, we chose to make a CG short video first to inform everyone that this new project has officially entered the development stage.

Q: Why start with Zhong Kui instead of a sequel to "Black Myth: Wukong"?

With everyone's consistent support, the first work of Black Myth has been successfully launched. After the story of the people of destiny came to an end, we are very eager to proceed gently next, try some more different game experiences, tinker with some more challenging game features, and also come up with some new things in the world - view and narrative.

Zhong Kui is a natural choice under the comprehensive consideration of such a mood and many other factors. In this new game, we are confident to make refreshing changes and novelties, and we will also seriously reflect on the past deficiencies and regrets.

And to all the friends who love "Black Myth: Wukong", we want to say: The story of the journey to the west will not end here.

Q: As the second work in the Black Myth series, what are the similarities and differences between "Zhong Kui" and "Wukong"?

First of all, as can be seen from the name, "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" is still based on Chinese ancient myths and folk legends.

Secondly, it is still a standard single - player, action, role - playing game, with the same business model as the previous work.

Finally, players probably won't play as a monkey this time. Well, regarding the specific differences between the two products, we are still exploring and making mistakes. Please hold on to your instant noodles first. Let us make the quality good enough to impress ourselves before presenting it to you.

Q: When will "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" be released?

We really have no idea about this question at present. Please pay close attention to our official website: Click to enter, as well as the official accounts on social media platforms such as Bilibili, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.

Special reminder: As of now, the official accounts of "Black Myth: Wukong" on various social media platforms have been renamed from "Black Myth: Wukong" to "Black Myth". In the future, all official information about the Black Myth series of games will be uniformly released through the account named "Black Myth". Just follow it once and you don't need to change.

Q: Which platforms will "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" be available on?

PC and mainstream console platforms. Please refer to the pre - release notice for the official information.

Q: Can you reveal more about the plot and gameplay of "Black Myth: Zhong Kui"?

It's hard to say. It seems that the outline hasn't even been completed! The colleagues in the development team are very enthusiastic and eager to tell a new story, create new fun, and at the same time, make all the players who like the black monkey familiar yet surprised.

Additionally, on the Weibo platform, Feng Ji gave a more personalized response:

Screenshot of Feng Ji's Weibo

Yang Qi posted that the production team has been working on the Journey to the West theme for more than a decade, "Maybe it's time to change the focus." "Zhong Kui" will be a "strange and mysterious legend", different from the god - demon story of "Wukong".

The overseas game media GameRant speculated that since Zhong Kui's identity is a "ghost - catcher", the new game may be a ghost - catching game similar to "Pokémon". "Zhong Kui is the Pokémon trainer in Taoist mythology," guessed Drew Swanson, the author of the GameRant article. Players of "Zhong Kui" are likely to control ghosts in some form. "This may remind people of other popular beast - taming games, such as 'Pokémon'."

Meanwhile, fans of Game Science at home and abroad also started discussing. On the English forum Reddit, foreign players tried to explain who Zhong Kui is to those who are not familiar with Chinese culture by saying "Constantine in ancient China". John Constantine is a fictional anti - hero character under the DC Comics. As a cynical exorcist, he has the ability to see angels and demons and makes a living by helping people expel evil spirits and maintain the balance of the world.

Because of the success of "Wukong", players at home and abroad have high expectations for "Zhong Kui". On August 20 last year, after the launch of "Wukong", it quickly topped the sales charts on multiple platforms. The official announced that the global sales exceeded 10 million copies within the first three days of its release and exceeded 20 million copies within a month after its release, making it one of the fastest - selling games in history.

Standing on the success of "Wukong", "Zhong Kui" already has an advantage in terms of popularity. But from the current reactions of overseas players, it can be seen that compared with the well - known Journey to the West story, Zhong Kui is still an unfamiliar figure to most foreigners. In the gaming circle, there is a skeptical view that "The reason why 'Black Monkey' became popular is not because of the 'black' but because of the'monkey'." In other words, the reason why "Wukong" achieved a phenomenal success is not because the game is well - made, but because of the good IP of the Journey to the West.

Whether this statement makes sense or not, we will have the answer when "Zhong Kui" is launched.

Today, "Zhong Kui" also brought a more meaningful signal - the official accounts of "Black Myth: Wukong" on various social media platforms have been renamed from "Black Myth: Wukong" to "Black Myth". The official of Black Myth said that in the future, all official information about the Black Myth series of games will be uniformly released through the account named "Black Myth".

The avatar of the official Black Myth account has been changed to Zhong Kui

Game Science has put forward the concept of the "Black Myth series", which proves that the company wants to do something much bigger than "creating another hit" or "retracing the journey to the west". Before this, Game Science has registered trademarks such as "Black Myth: Zhong Kui", "Black Myth: Jiang Ziya", and "Black Myth: Xiao Qian".

Although the outside world previously thought that this was just a "defensive" trademark registration move, the appearance of Zhong Kui proves that we can have bolder expectations for Game Science.