Zhong Kui Takes Over from Black Myth, and Game Science Won't Look Back.

Text by Liu Shiwu

August 20th marks the first anniversary of the launch of China's first 3A game, "Black Myth: Wukong". During the globally renowned game event, the "Gamescom", Game Science officially announced new developments in the Black Myth series.

However, there was no "Black Monkey" this time. Game Science presented the first PV of their in - development action game, "Black Myth: Zhong Kui".

"Black Myth: Zhong Kui"

In the past year, "Black Myth: Wukong" has created a miracle in China's 3A gaming industry. It sold 20 million copies in the first month and exceeded 30 million copies in the first year, setting dual records as the best - selling Chinese single - purchase game in history and the best - selling game globally in the year. It has also been crowned or nominated for multiple top - tier game awards both at home and abroad.

Countless players, after completing the game or even multiple playthroughs, began to anticipate the release of new DLC (additional content). At the Gamescom, Game Science didn't meet the players' expectations, but producer Feng Ji explained the situation on Weibo.

Screenshot of Feng Ji's Weibo post

Feng Ji admitted that the great success of "Black Myth: Wukong" didn't bring him continuous joy. Instead, it plunged him into a long - term state of "confusion, emptiness, and fear". After realizing his two - decade - long obsession with the work, the sudden lack of a clear goal, combined with the pressure from players' enthusiastic expectations for DLC, put him in a situation where "he was superficially working on the DLC while deeply longing for a breakthrough" - until a conversation with art director Yang Qi, when they finally decided to put the DLC on hold and shift the team's focus to the new project.

In fact, since "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" was put on the agenda in the first half of the year, only a few months have passed. The project is still in the stage of "just having created the folder recently", and the in - game content hasn't taken shape yet. Game Science's choice to use a CG trailer this time is to keep the development process transparent, avoid over - promising, and it also has a similar meaning to the early trailer of "Black Myth: Wukong", which was used to recruit talented people.

As the "Myth Series Blueprint" unfolds, has the mission of "Black Myth: Wukong" been completed?

From the perspective of the game itself, in the past year, the phenomenon - level topic craze caused by the popularity of "Black Myth: Wukong" has completely revitalized the domestic single - player game market.

While the game sold over 15 million copies in the first week of its launch, the total playback volume of related content on Bilibili was nearly 700 million, showing high player enthusiasm. The tickets for the "Black Myth: Wukong" themed concerts were sold out every time, and they were extremely hard to get.

The IP commercial value brought by the game has also exploded. The "Flying Cloud Americano" co - branded with Luckin Coffee became a popular item for a while, and the related game merchandise was almost sold out within minutes of the store opening every day.

According to 36Kr Game, in the early stage of the launch of "Black Myth: Wukong", most manufacturers seeking cross - industry co - operation had to pay licensing fees ranging from hundreds of thousands to over a million yuan (or use a mixed form of licensing and revenue sharing). The industry types included digital products, game peripherals, food and beverage retail, trendy derivatives, etc.

During the recent BW2025, Chow Tai Fook Jewelry released a set of data: Since the launch of their co - branded series with the domestic 3A game "Black Myth: Wukong" in January this year, the retail value has exceeded 150 million yuan, becoming a benchmark case for the traditional jewelry industry's cross - border cooperation.

In addition to the commercialization of the game IP itself, Game Science, through this game, has not only allowed players to understand 3A games and play domestic 3A games but also enabled more people to discover the value of games as carriers of culture and art.

"Black Myth: Wukong"

The temples, Buddha statues, and ancient buildings in the game, which are inspired by real - life scenes, have become popular check - in spots. The combination of the game and the cultural and tourism industry has also created new growth points for local cultural and tourism departments.

Taking Shanxi Province as an example, affected by the game's popularity, during the National Day holiday in 2024, 66 key monitored scenic spots in the province received a total of 7.8446 million tourists, a year - on - year increase of 46.90%. Among them, 27 cultural relic scenic spots related to "Black Myth: Wukong" received a total of 1.8854 million tourists, with a total ticket revenue of 56.167 million yuan.

While the "Black Monkey" became popular, it also gave Chinese game manufacturers greater confidence in console games. In addition to games such as "Late Ming: Feather of the Abyss", "Blade & Soul Zero", and "Lost Soul", which were developed around the same time as "Black Myth: Wukong", NetEase recently revealed their in - development 3A single - player game "Return to the Tang Dynasty", and Zhulong Game (the developer of the "Gu Jian Qi Tan" series) under Tencent announced a new IP game, "Gu Jian".

Of course, whether it's a 3A or quasi - 3A game, the development cycle is measured in years. Usually, the development cycle of a game takes 3 - 5 years or even longer. However, without the feat achieved by "Black Myth: Wukong", many small studios wouldn't have received attention or investment, and large studios would have been more inclined to invest resources in the already mature mobile and online game ecosystems.

Returning to the previous question, the answer is obvious - The Black Monkey has completed its mission, and it has done a great job.

Finally, let's talk about the Black Myth.

Here, the Black Myth refers to the "Black Myth Universe" that Game Science wants to build. Its foundation is Chinese ancient mythological stories, and its core is Chinese cultural connotations.

Painting of Zhong Kui Riding a Tiger, Artist Unknown

Zhong Kui is a deity in Taoism. In Chinese folk culture, people often hang Zhong Kui's statue to ward off evil and disasters. The legend of "Zhong Kui Capturing Ghosts" has been passed down from ancient times to the present. The image of Zhong Kui riding a tiger in the first - exposed PV of "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" originated from a Ming - dynasty painting, and many artists still create works based on it today.

Although Game Science's new game no longer focuses on the "Journey to the West" theme, it still takes the widely - spread Zhong Kui mythology in East and Southeast Asia as the core of the story. Therefore, players at home and abroad have expressed their expectations on social media.

The only slightly disappointing thing is that Game Science had previously applied for the trademarks of "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" and "Black Myth: Jiang Ziya", which was a bit of a "spoiler".

In Feng Ji's Weibo post, he mentioned many keywords about the new game: "New heroes, new gameplay, new visuals, new technology, new stories. Let go, take bold attempts, be unrestricted by fixed methods, and start from scratch."

Currently, the official Bilibili account of the Black Monkey has been renamed "Black Myth", with the description "Official account of the Black Myth series of games". The profile picture and background have also been changed to Zhong Kui.

"Black Myth: Zhong Kui"

Perhaps "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" will be a product that differs from its predecessor in terms of gameplay, art style, and narrative style. Maybe players will have to wait another three to five years. But Feng Ji also said, "There is surprise in the unknown; there is fun in challenges." Moreover, the story of the monkey might meet players again someday in the future.

It's time for Game Science to let Zhong Kui take over the Black Myth.

This article was first published on "36Kr Game".