"Black Myth: Wukong", a video game based on the Chinese myth of Journey to the West, and inspired by the antics of monkey king Sun Wukong, launched recently on Aug. 20 to much fanfare.

The game broke records on the gaming platform Steam and is currently the most-played single-player game in Steam's history.

Made by developer Game Science, based out of Hangzhou, China, the game is available on PlayStation 5, and Microsoft Windows.

Game Science secured backing for the game from several investors, including Chinese tech giant Tencent and mobile game publisher Hero Entertainment, Reuters wrote.

The game is China's first "AAA game", a label that refers to games that are high-budget, high-profile and distributed by large and well-established publishers.

Most played game on Steam

On Aug. 21, 2024, there were reportedly 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam, Reuters reported.

At present, it is the most-played game on the Steam platform, beating titles like "Dota 2" and "Counter-Strike 2":

It is also top on Steam's list of best-selling games in Singapore, as of Aug. 21:

On the Steam platform, it is currently rated "Overwhelmingly Positive", with 160,301 reviews.

One company in China apparently gave its workers leave to play the game on Aug. 20:

A company in China has given its workers the day off to play Black Myth Wukong pic.twitter.com/k6nXkVuYe3

— Orikron 🇵🇹 (@orikron) August 20, 2024

The game has been compared to other action role-playing game titles like the popular "God of War", or "Elden Ring".

Here's the trailer if you're curious.

Chinese soft power

As China's first-ever AAA game, "Black Myth: Wukong"'s success marks a significant step forward for the Chinese video game industry.

Chinese state media have also rallied behind the game, with Xinhua writing in an editorial on Aug. 20: "With this breakthrough, the default language of a triple-A game is no longer English, but Chinese."

Xinhua wrote that the game:

"...not only represents a significant achievement in game development but also acts as a bridge in cultural storytelling, introducing elements of a treasured Chinese narrative to a global audience."

The game apparently taps into Chinese traditions, mythologies and iconography to inform its sound design, art direction and narrative.

The game also apparently features a theme from the 1986 TV show, "Journey to the West".

Yangcheng Evening News wrote about the game as a form of soft power, given its numerous references to famous Chinese landmarks and Chinese cultural heritage:

"The success of "Black Myth: Wukong" is not only a victory for the gaming industry, but also a key milestone for the exportation of Chinese culture."

However, there has been some amount of controversy surrounding the game's release.

According to the New York Times, a company affiliated with the video game issued a warning to overseas streamers looking to livestream the game with a list of topics they should avoid discussing.

The topics, laid out in a document circulated to the streamers, include politics, “feminist propaganda,” Covid-19, China’s video game industry policies and other content that “instigates negative discourse.

Top photo from Black Myth: Wukong/YouTube & Playstation Australia/Facebook.