“BLACK Myth: Wukong,” an action role-playing game developed by Shenzhen-based Game Science, saw more than 1 million people playing the game within an hour of its launch yesterday, while shares of its publisher Zhejiang Publishing & Media surged by their daily limit.

As China’s first true AAA title — a game characterized by high development costs, long production cycles, and significant resource investment, “Black Myth” represents a major breakthrough of the Chinese gaming industry.

The game is set against the backdrop of the classic Chinese novel “Journey to the West.” After Tang Monk and his disciples successfully obtained Buddhist scriptures, Monkey King (Sun Wukong) was named Fighting Buddha and gradually vanished without a trace. The player, known as the Destined One, embarks on an epic journey to uncover the truth behind the legendary tale.

The game's trailers and gameplay demos garnered over 100 million views on Bilibili, China’s equivalent of YouTube, and over 10 million views on YouTube.

The game launched on Windows and Sony’s PlayStation yesterday morning after seven years of development. It topped leading digital distribution platform Steam with 1.43 million concurrent online players as of 3.30 p.m.

Game Science was founded in 2014 by Feng Ji, Yang Qi and other core team members of Tencent’s online game “Asura.”

Feng revealed that the R&D costs of “Black Myth” exceeds 400 million yuan (US$56 million).

Between 2017 and 2021, Game Science receives an angel and a series A funding from Guangxi Tencent Venture Capital and Tianjin-based Hero Games.

Zhejiang Publishing and Media (SH: 601921) soared 10% to close at 9.57 yuan a share in Shanghai, a record high since June last year.

Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Publishing and Media oversees the content review and publishing application of “Black Myth: Wukong.” The game's standard version costs US$59.99 on Steam and PlayStation's US store, while the deluxe edition is priced at US$69.99.

Since launching pre-orders in June, “Black Myth: Wukong” topped Steam's selling rank multiple times. Based on the number of players, its sales have exceeded 400 million yuan.

The stock of other companies related to the game also surged.

Shares of Huayi Brothers Media (SH: 300027), a Beijing-based film and television drama producer with about a 5.2% stake in Hero Games, an early investor in Game Science, closed 19% higher at 2.94 yuan in Shenzhen.

Citic Press (SH: 300788) soared by the exchange-imposed daily trading limit of 20% to end at 29.86 yuan a share after the company said it took part in publishing the game’s design works, which are collections of character settings and background information.

(SD News)