Could we have ever predicted the wild success of an irate primate with a stick and a grudge? Now long ago Black Myth: Wukong was announced to have sold 10m copies in a matter of days. Now, the Chinese game has seemingly leapt past the 18m mark.
The news comes via Bloomberg rather than Game Science itself though, so it’s not entirely clear if the data is 100% accurate. VGInsights is also claiming over 18m copies sold, but again, they do not have access to the true sales statistics and instead use various pieces of data to arrive at their conclusions.
“Black Myth: Wukong has sold 18 million copies in two weeks — one of the fastest starts the global gaming industry has seen.” said Bloomberg Markets official X account.
If accurate, it makes Black Myth: Wukong one of the fastest-selling games ever, surpassing the likes of Hogwarts Legacy, Elden Ring and Tears of the Kingdom. Given the incredible pace of these sales, it seems likely Black Myth: Wukong will be the best-selling game of 2024 by a mile. Or two. Maybe even five.
A lot of the sales come from China where people seem eager to support a homegrown game that is also capturing the imagination of the west. VGInsights is currently estimating that 76% of the sales are from China, which in this case would around 13.6 million.
Of course, that doesn’t diminish the game’s incredible success.
VGInsights is also claiming some other impressive stats, including $850 million in gross revenue.
I’ve been playing it and have been debating whether to review it or not. Quick thoughts: it’s good, although I don’t think it’s 18 million copies good. Before you jump on me and beat me to death with a staff, it’s a great game that’s well worth playing. But I think it also has some flaws that become more apparent the longer you play.
Whatever my thoughts, the public clearly loves the tale of a monkey going against the Gods, and Game Science completely deserves their success. Let’s all just revel in a cool game being rewarded, shall we?