Chinese triple-A video game Black Myth: Wukong proves a big hit with initial pre-orders 16 times oversubscribed

China’s first triple-A video game, Black Myth: Wukong, has emerged as a big hit more than two months before its official release, as initial domestic pre-orders were about 16 times oversubscribed as of Tuesday.

An action role-playing game based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West published in the 16th century, Black Myth: Wukong was developed by Shenzhen-based studio Game Science, which is backed by Tencent Holdings – operator of the world’s largest video gaming business by revenue.

A set of 10,000 physical copies of the deluxe edition of Black Myth: Wukong that cost 1,998 yuan (US$276) each, which includes online access to the game and souvenirs, were made available on e-commerce platform JD.com where total pre-orders reached 160,000 within a few hours, making the promotional package 16 times oversubscribed.

The much-anticipated game – to be released on August 20 for Windows and Sony’s PlayStation 5 – bears the industry’s informal triple-A classification, which signifies a large-budget, high-profile game produced and distributed by well-known publishers. These games often rank as blockbusters because of their extreme popularity. Game Science, however, has not disclosed the game’s development cost.

The strong pre-orders reflect the pent-up demand on the mainland for Black Myth: Wukong, years after Game Science first uploaded a 13-minute demo video of the game in August 2020 that quickly generated 10 million views on Chinese video-sharing site Bilibili and nearly 2 million on YouTube.