September 17th marks the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, where people traditionally indulge in mooncakes. This year, a particular mooncake from China has gained widespread popularity. Suzhou’s provincial-level intangible cultural heritage project, the protective unit of Suzhou-style mooncake making techniques, Daoxiangcun, collaborated with the popular game “Black Myth: Wukong” to launch a “Qi Tian Lan Yue” mooncake gift box priced at 99 RMB. Upon its release, it became an instant hit, with buyers exclaiming, “How can one bring themselves to eat this?”
“Black Myth: Wukong” has also been making waves in the cross-border e-commerce sector recently. Shortly after its release, TikTok influencer @barbiegoodies.us swiftly created short videos incorporating the game’s storyline to promote a set of four jewelry memorabilia. Renowned Chinese jewelry brands like Lao Fengxiang and Qupite have also embedded “Black Myth: Wukong” elements into their jewelry designs. Chow Tai Fook’s earlier release of a 1.8 million RMB solid gold Monkey King’s staff has also unexpectedly gained traction due to the recent popularity of “Black Myth: Wukong,” frequently trending on social media. Currently, this auspicious gold staff, weighing 7,616.06 grams with 1,755 grams of gold and measuring 2016.28 millimeters in length, is being exhibited at Xi’an SEG International Shopping Mall.
Apart from its success in merchandise sales, “Black Myth: Wukong” has also garnered celebrity endorsements. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and tech giant, shared a photo of himself with an AI-generated image of “Black Myth: Wukong” on his social media platform X, commenting, “An impressive AAA game from China! Seems oddly familiar.” This post garnered over 62 million views, sparking various interpretations and a wave of shares on social media. What magic does this game possess? What does its popularity signify?
The explosive popularity of “Black Myth: Wukong” highlights a significant improvement in China’s game industrialization level. Drawing inspiration from one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels, “Journey to the West,” “Black Myth: Wukong” quickly topped the sales charts on platforms like Steam and WeGame since its official release on August 20th, selling over 4.5 million copies on its first day and remaining at the top of Steam’s global charts for five consecutive weeks. According to VG Insights, as of September 12th, the game had sold over 18.9 million copies globally within just two weeks, generating over $905 million in revenue, equivalent to over 6.4 billion RMB. With its stunning graphics, intricate gameplay design, and robust cultural tourism integrations, this game has sparked a wave of Chinese fantasy gaming among global players, showcasing Chinese mythology, traditions, culture, and real-life locations to the world.
“Black Myth: Wukong” enhances the global appeal of Chinese culture. In recent years, China has produced a series of well-crafted cultural products such as “The Wandering Earth,” “Three Thousand Miles of Chang’an,” and “My Altay,” marking significant improvements in the quality of Chinese cultural products. As globalization accelerates and technological advancements continue, cross-regional cultural exchanges have become increasingly frequent. Games, as globally influential cultural and creative products, play a crucial role in bridging different cultures and have become an important means for countries to showcase their cultural soft power.
“Black Myth: Wukong,” with its inherent strong Chinese cultural symbols, owes its success not only to its exceptional gameplay quality but also to its unique cultural charm and global perspective. Its meteoric rise not only fills the gap in China’s AAA game industry but also signifies a breakthrough for Chinese cultural products, marking their advancement towards premiumization and internationalization.
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City: SuZhou
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