China's gaming industry has made a major impact globally with the release of Black Myth: Wukong by Game Science, selling over 18 million copies in two weeks and setting records on Steam. Historically, China's gaming scene was shaped by regulations like the ban on consoles, leading to the rise of internet cafés, microtransactions, and mobile games. However, Black Myth: Wukong marks a shift toward AAA console games, an area China previously lagged in.
Chinese companies like MiHoYo have also found success with globally popular games such as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. Meanwhile, Western game studios are struggling, with layoffs and product failures. The success of Black Myth: Wukong, a single-player game without microtransactions, signals China’s growing dominance in gaming and challenges Western developers reliant on live-service, microtransaction-heavy models.
Discussion (3)
Not only is it visually stunning, but it’s also a narrative rooted in Chinese mythology, which brings something fresh to a market that’s been oversaturated with remakes, sequels, and battle passes.
Also, 18 million copies in two weeks? That’s insane.
The western studios have been coasting on microtransactions and DLC packs for too long, let's force some good gameplay competition into the mix.
Ubisoft, EA, Activision ... they been pushing out live service trash for years, and now they are scrambling