Queued for two hours to buy gourd pendants. The physical store of *Black Myth: Wukong* was sold out.

Author | Ranger

Editor | Qiao Qian

After a year's absence, Game Science has once again entered the public eye, but this time it's not because of a new game, but because of its brand store.

Before the National Day holiday, the official brand of "Black Myth: Wukong" under Game Science, "Black Myth BLACKMYTH", opened its first offline physical store in Hangzhou and started its trial operation on September 25th.

During the opening period, there were long queues outside the store. The limited - edition Xiangfei Gourd Glassware sold out within an hour of its release and is still being restocked. According to a source close to Black Myth, the sales volume in the first two days of the trial operation far exceeded expectations.

Many game fans and tourists complained about the queuing issue on social platforms, which also brought some public - opinion crises to Black Myth BLACKMYTH. In response, the official stated that they were not well - prepared during the trial operation and would optimize the queuing experience and the in - store product preparation.

During the National Day holiday, to cope with the influx of consumers, the store made several adjustments. The business hours were extended from the original 10:30 - 18:30 to 10:30 - 21:00.

A Guai is a loyal fan of Black Myth and also a B - station UP master. When "Black Myth: Wukong" was released, he stayed up day and night to live - stream the game's clearance in three days. As one of the first customers of the store, he arrived at the store at around 8 o'clock, two hours earlier than the normal business hours. At that time, there were only a few people. He said, "Those who go at half - past ten will only be able to enter the store two hours later."

After the National Day holiday, the store's footfall dropped significantly. A Guai went to the store again on October 13th, and the store was in normal operation. 36Kr recently inquired with the store, and they said there was no more queuing.

From a grand opening to a normal state, how well has the offline store of Black Myth BLACKMYTH performed?

Building a Super Store

Last August, the stir caused by the release of "Black Myth: Wukong" is still unforgettable. Countless flowers and applause came in. The in - game footage was everywhere on major content platforms, and more than a dozen industries such as electronics, e - sports hotels, and tea drinks were boosted. So, it's natural for Game Science to start selling game merchandise.

However, the difference is that this time the team established its own brand, "Black Myth BLACKMYTH", and was not satisfied with cooperating with distributors. It opened an official offline store, which is the first of its kind in the domestic game industry.

Black Myth BLACKMYTH is 100% independently produced by Game Science. It is the only official brand that is fully responsible for design and production supervision. A special team has been set up internally to independently handle the brand's design, production, and operation. According to current information, Yang Qi, the co - founder of Game Science and the art director of "Black Myth: Wukong", is one of the main people in charge of the Black Myth MONKEYMYTH brand.

As early as when the brand was launched in January this year, the official emphasized that they hoped Black Myth BLACKMYTH would not just be a derivative of one or a few specific games, but a high - quality and tasteful brand for players' daily lives.

Looking back at the opening of this brand store, it has some similarities with the logic of Pop Mart's super stores. The latter refers to Pop Mart's iconic stores that are large in area, connected to landmarks, and have a sense of art and brand "envelopment" (in the words of Wang Ning, the founder of Pop Mart).

The Black Myth store in Hangzhou's Xihu District is more like an art gallery. The store covers 1000 square meters and is divided into two floors. The first floor is mainly for sales, and the second floor is mainly for display. In front of the store, there is a statue of the Land God of Xiaoxitian. Some exhibits from the previous Black Myth & China Academy of Art exhibition, such as the giant head of Lingji Bodhisattva, have also been moved here. From the second floor, you can overlook the whole store, and there is a beheaded statue of Lingji Bodhisattva at the edge.

Panoramic view of the first floor of the store, provided by the interviewee

Specifically for the products, compared with simply printing game images on cups and T - shirts, Black Myth BLACKMYTH's products are much more elaborate. For example, the "Yaksha King Cardigan Shirt" has put a lot of effort into the fabric and printing. It uses a blended fabric of Lyocell fiber, cotton, and wool with good drape and texture, and a custom - made woven print of the character.

The "Yaksha King Cardigan Shirt", source: the official flagship store

In terms of product categories, there is a distinction between online and offline. The limited - edition products launched in the offline store, in addition to the popular Xiangfei Gourd Glassware, also include the Zhong Kui Riding a Tiger Short - sleeved T - shirt & Fan, and the Pig Bajie Plush Hanging Bag. After inquiring with the official, 36Kr learned that there is no more stock of the Xiangfei Gourd Glassware, and it is expected to be restocked by the end of the month. The Pig Bajie Plush Hanging Bag is also out of stock, and it is unlikely to be restocked in the future.

Before the store opened, the brand had launched a corresponding WeChat mini - program, mainly selling figurines in the "Precious Collectibles Series" with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of yuan, including a 1/12 scale Pig Bajie figurine for 368 yuan, a 1/12 scale Yang Jian figurine for 489 yuan, and a 1/6 scale cast - copper Yaksha King for 9800 yuan. In addition, some pre - order products will not be available until the middle of next year, that is, half a year later. "Because the order volume is large and the in - stock products have been sold out," the customer service said.

Interestingly, another popular topic about the store is that the clerks are all very good - looking and provide excellent service. This is similar to Pop Mart, which takes service as one of the most important criteria for evaluating store clerks.

Different from Pop Mart's super stores, the Black Myth BLACKMYTH store is not located in a landmark building or a busy commercial district with high footfall. Instead, it is located in the urban - rural fringe area of Hangzhou, where Game Science's company is located. This has brought some inconvenience to consumers. After arriving by subway, they still need to walk nearly two kilometers to reach the store, and there are few commercial and entertainment facilities in the surrounding area. The nearest Hangzhou Jinjie Meidi Commercial Center is still more than two kilometers away from the store.

This also explains why the store's footfall dropped significantly after the National Day holiday. After all, compared with Pop Mart stores located in major core commercial areas at home and abroad, it is much more difficult to visit a Black Myth BLACKMYTH store.

In addition, although efforts have been made in product design, the product categories in the store are still not rich enough. A Guai spent a total of 5000 yuan in the store on two visits. He shared that if you just take a quick look around, you can finish viewing all the products in less than fifteen minutes.

Will It Keep Running?

Game Science started IP licensing a long time ago, but it only started building its own brand this year.

Last August, the game caused a sensation across the country as soon as it was released. However, until the end of last year, there were still very few products in the game's official flagship store. In contrast, there have been many successful co - branding campaigns between Black Myth and various consumer brands.

On August 20th, 2024, the day when "Black Myth: Wukong" was launched, Luckin Coffee released a co - branded product, the "Black Myth Cloud - Riding Americano", and announced the launch of peripherals such as co - branded cup sleeves, co - branded paper bags, and 3D limited - edition posters of Black Myth. The set meal that could get the limited 3D posters sold out in seconds. Many consumers who didn't get the posters rushed to the official Weibo comment section angrily, forcing Luckin's official to apologize, saying that "the enthusiasm exceeded expectations."

In January this year, "Black Myth: Wukong" also co - branded with Chow Tai Fook to launch gold products. The most expensive one, the "Ruyi Golden Cudgel Gold Bracelet", was priced at a whopping 46,600 yuan, which verified the upper price limit of the brand's products.

These are all common paths for game IPs. The change came with the cooperation between Game Science and Miniso.

On January 15th, Black Myth BLACKMYTH reached a cooperation with Miniso, and the latter became the exclusive global offline sales channel for Black Myth's official derivatives. On the first day of the opening of their co - branded theme store, many related products, both online and offline, were snapped up and out of stock. The most expensive one was a 499 - yuan carpet.

This cooperation has accumulated experience and confidence for Game Science to build its own brand. Since then, the product categories in Game Science's official flagship store have become more and more diverse, now covering clothing, jewelry, figurines, plush toys, and daily necessities.

For game IPs and manufacturers, launching a self - owned brand and opening offline stores is not easy. It requires both the accumulation of experience in cross - border retail and a large enough influence of the IP at home and abroad. After all, a similar example can be traced back to Nintendo, a Japanese game giant, which opened a direct - sales store in Tokyo, gathering global IPs such as "The Legend of Zelda" and "Pokémon".

But in today's era, the works of Chinese game manufacturers such as miHoYo have become popular around the world, and trendy toy images like Labubu have triggered a buying frenzy at home and abroad. Chinese IPs are fully capable of telling a good business story. Now, Game Science has also taken a step in this direction.

At the opening night of this year's Gamescom, Game Science's new game, "Black Myth: Zhong Kui", made a grand appearance as the finale, once again shocking the industry. This also means that the story of the "Black Myth" IP and brand will continue.

Just like in the store, in addition to the peripherals of "Black Myth: Wukong", there are also displays of "Zhong Kui" sculptures and related products for sale. The latter is also regarded by game fans as an Easter egg for the new game.

The statue on display in the store, source: the interviewee

A source close to Black Myth BLACKMYTH told 36Kr that the brand plans to open branch stores, but the specific implementation will depend on the evaluation of the operation of the first store.

This time, besides making 3A games, Game Science also wants to tell a story about its brand.