China’s video-game industry is scaling up to release more blockbusters in 2025 after the breakout global success of “triple-A” title Black Myth: Wukong.
In August, little-known Chinese developer Game Science achieved one of the fastest-selling debuts in gaming history with 10mn copies sold in three days of a title inspired by a classical Chinese novel about an anthropomorphic monkey with supernatural powers.
The action role-playing game has since earned $1.1bn, with nearly 25mn copies sold, according to estimates from gaming consultancy Niko Partners. Around 70 per cent of sales came in China.
The game’s appeal both at home and abroad goes beyond its state of the art graphics, fun gameplay and strong character development, according to one typical fan.
“Hu”, a 29-year-old former tech worker in Beijing, said: “The biggest difference is that this is an authentically Chinese game, incorporating a wealth of historical, cultural and martial arts elements far more genuine than the occasional Chinese flavour found in other games.”
Developers have taken it up a notch to achieve that. The game is China’s first major “AAA” title — an unofficial designation for games with large budgets and lengthy development cycles released for gaming PCs and consoles rather than smartphones.
“Black Myth: Wukong put Chinese developers firmly on the map for triple-A premium games,” said Daniel Ahmad, Niko Partners’ research director.
Industry insiders hope this will rekindle investment in a domestic gaming sector recovering from a regulatory crackdown that began in 2021, when children were banned from playing video games for more than an hour on certain days.
The industry has been suffering globally with mass lay-offs, tepid revenue growth and spiralling development costs, particularly in the US. In China, it is still recovering from the 18-month break in gaming approvals from June 2021, which prompted investors to pull back and forced a wave of closures of smaller studios. Authorities have since resumed issuing licences.
“The success of Black Myth makes developers dare to chase dreams and reach for triple-A projects,” said one gaming developer at a Shenzhen-based studio backed by Tencent. But he added he had not yet seen venture capital investment return with any vigour.
Black Myth: Wukong also received an enthusiastic reception from state media. It celebrated its role in promoting a positive view of China overseas, indicating a more accommodating political view on gaming.
The state-run China Daily published an opinion piece saying it was “exhilarating to see China break the long-standing Western dominance in the high-end gaming market and Western gamers embrace traditional Chinese culture”. This contrasted with state media in 2021 accusing the industry of promoting “spiritual opium”.
The game is leading a shift in China towards larger budgets and more ambitious titles that can compete internationally, with anticipation growing about projects, including Phantom Blade Zero from Beijing-based S-Game and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers by the Chengdu-based Leenzee, due for release later this year. The Tencent-backed studio Chengdu Ophiuchus Technology and the independent developer Digisky are also working on triple-A projects.
“Before this game, Chinese developers were best at making free-to-play games, especially for mobile . . . they had not conquered the triple-A premium space,” Ahmad said.
China’s largest gaming company, Tencent, is still heavily invested in mobile. Its domestic gaming revenues returned to growth in 2024, with the release of its hit smartphone game Dungeon & Fighter Mobile, after several years of waiting for regulatory approval.
“DnF Mobile has been an important factor in Tencent’s strong gaming performance this year,” said Robin Zhu, internet analyst at Bernstein. Tencent’s domestic gaming revenue grew by 6 per cent in the first nine months of 2024 to Rmb106bn ($14.6bn).
Beijing has also stepped up the pace of granting new gaming licences, in another sign that the government has adopted a more favourable stance. In the first 11 months of 2024, Beijing approved nearly 1,300 games, already outstripping last year’s total, according to Niko data.
Zhu said the strength of Tencent’s domestic gaming business showed that even though consumers were shopping less, they were still willing to spend on gaming.
“People are reining in on ecommerce but putting more money on experiences and services,” he said.
But 2024 was not a strong year for all China’s gaming companies, with number-two player NetEase seeing gaming revenue fall by 4 per cent to Rmb21bn in the third quarter. Analysts blamed in part the fading popularity of Eggy Party, a multiplayer obstacle-course casual video game.
Ahmad said that Black Myth: Wukong’s release showed how China had learnt how to tool up for bigger games.
“China’s gaming industry has gone through an industrialisation process. Before, they found it hard to compete with the likes of Activision Blizzard. But the Chinese studios have brought in foreign experts, scaled their teams, standardised tools and production processes, focusing on high production values, popular gameplay mechanics, and deep progression systems that can help them compete globally.”
While they were going head to head with international gaming giants, Chinese developers had a cost advantage, he said, with the country’s vast pool of talented and cheap engineers. Game Science spent $42mn developing Black Myth: Wukong, according to government reports.
“If the same game were developed in the US, it would have cost at least twice if not three times as much. The costs are so much lower in China,” said Ahmad.
