People walk past the image of the ‘Monkey King’ character, or ‘Sun Wukong’ of Chinese action role-playing game ‘Black Myth: Wukong’, developed by Chinese video game company Game Science, during its launch day in Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on August 20, 2024.
Str | Afp | Getty Images
BEIJING – China’s first attempt at a top-tier video game has smashed world records, bolstering the industry’s global ambitions just a few years after Beijing’s gaming crackdown.
Black Myth: Wukong, an action game set in mythological China, sold more than 10 million units three days after its launch on Aug. 20. Ten days later, the title still ranked second by revenue in the U.S., and No. 1 globally, according to the Steam video game platform where it sells for around $60 or more.
“I think the next triple-A game is likely very close, because Black Myth: Wukong has shown everyone that a China-made AAA game can reach such high global sales,” said Dino Ying, chairman of Hero Games, which co-published the game and was an early investor in its developer Game Science. That’s according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks in an exclusive interview Thursday.
Ying said he knew of at least one such game under development, which his business partner at Hero Games has invested in. But he declined to share a timeframe.
As for how well Black Myth: Wukong has done, Ying only said sales have since increased by “much more” than the 10 million unit figure, although he indicated it had not yet doubled.
He said that in the future, the company’s game releases will have a global strategy from the start. He also expects foreign AAA game developers to realize how large China’s market is and tailor more features to Chinese players.
AAA games generally refer to titles with high graphics quality and significant marketing. That’s meant such video games have tended to come from companies such as Nintendo, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.
“China is a big country. We’re talking about 1 million concurrent players,” said Ivan Su, senior equity analyst at Morningstar. “China has 600 million gamers.”
He said the reason why China hasn’t previously developed its own AAA game, which are typically played on computers and consoles, is the years-long production time. “It’s much more cost-effective if you create mobile games,” Su said.
Apple’s Tim Cook visited Hero Games
When Hero Games first invested in Game Science, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited in 2017 and was so impressed by the first game, Art of War: Red Tides, he gave it the front page of the iOS App store in 178 countries, Ying said.
But that wasn’t a commercial success.
Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the office of Hero Games in 2017 after it invested in Game Science, which went on to develop Black Myth: Wukong.
Hero Games
Hero Games had already spent three years investing 60 million yuan (about $8.5 million today) in two failed projects from Game Science when the developer approached Ying and his team in August 2020 about Black Myth: Wukong, he said.
“We’re very lucky, we didn’t give up on Game Science before it succeeded,” Ying said, noting his business partner Daniel Wu, now CEO of Hero Games, had first discovered the startup.
“We aren’t saying to blindly wait for all people,” he said. “When you see that kind of talent, you need to be confident that that talent has been underappreciated. It may not have found the right direction. [So you just need to] help it to find it.”
‘Best game that I have seen’
Two days before Game Science planned to release a promotional video for Black Myth: Wukong, the company showed it to Ying and asked his team for at least 100 million yuan more, he said. If not, he said the startup planned to ask Bilibili, a major Chinese video streaming and game platform.
After watching the video, Ying said he told his team that “I really don’t want to miss this opportunity because this is the best game that I have seen in my life.”
Tencent then bought a 5% stake, but said it would not interfere with Game Science’s plans, Ying said. “Because this was an AAA game, under the normal process of a big business, there was no way it would have been approved.”
Hero Games’ initial investment in Game Science was for a 20% stake.
Beijing has only in the last two years started to approve games, after suspending new titles and limiting how many hours minors could play in 2021.
Black Myth: Wukong got China’s government approval in February. No part of the game needed to be changed for it to pass, Ying said.
“Personally I think in the past two years the regulation is increasingly respectful of the game industry and is beneficial to its development,” Ying said, noting that one or two years ago, there “was a misunderstanding.”
Massive market potential
In the first half of this year, domestic game sales in China reached 147.27 billion yuan, said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of China digital consultancy ChoZan, citing industry figures.
Ying pointed out that many people in China bought PlayStations or upgraded their graphics cards after Black Myth: Wukong’s release, similar to how many people first bought the Nintendo Switch because of Zelda.
Something that’s lasted 1,000 years, people will definitely like it
Dino Ying
Hero Games, chairman
As for the global market, Dudarenok said overseas sales of China-developed games rose to $16.4 billion in 2023, up from $11.6 billion in 2019.
“Chinese games often incorporate rich cultural elements that appeal more and more to a global audience,” she said. “This unique cultural flavor sets them apart from games developed in other regions”
Ying said he expects China has at least five to 10 other stories that have been passed down over the last millennia that can be turned into games.
“If I create a new thing, I don’t know if people will like it. But something that’s lasted 1,000 years, people will definitely like it,” Ying said. “We don’t know why it was preserved over so many years. But we just need to respect the [original] artisans.”
He said Game Science sent teams and equipment to ancient temples in China to scan and replicate the designs, boosting the game’s immersive feel.
Indie Chinese games
In the more niche market of independent games, Chinese companies are also on the rise.
Shanghai-based Cotton Game, which has a staff of 70 people, won the 2024 award for best development team in indie games from the French-supported Game Connection organization and ChinaJoy, which runs a major annual game conference in China.
“It depends on how capable we are, but [we hope to] use games as a way to share art, philosophy and thoughtful content,” the company’s CEO, who goes by the English name Cotton Guo, said in Mandarin translated by CNBC.
Cotton Game’s Sunset Hills – which took five years to draw by hand – also won the “Game of the Year” and “Best Indie Game” awards. The $20 game launched on Aug. 21 on Steam after raising $13,000 on Kickstarter.
The game follows an anthropomorphic dog through a Europe-like village, accompanied by the sounds of nature and music. Players solve puzzles along the way.
“Everyone is quite tired. In society today, the speed of life is very fast,” Robin Luo, the manager of Sunset Games. Its main character is based on his own dog. “So my hope while making Sunset Hills was that everyone playing the game could [find it] refreshing.”
Borrowers who serve in the public service sector and government are eligible for this forgiveness. (iStock )
Another 60,000 student loan borrowers will receive student loan relief in the coming weeks. The Biden Administration announced $4.5 billion in relief for public service workers such as nurses, teachers and social workers.
The relief comes as a fix to the original Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The program was initially signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007 to give non-profit and government employees loan forgiveness after 10 years in the workforce.
“Before President Biden and Vice President Harris entered the White House, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was so riddled by dysfunction that just 7,000 Americans ever qualified,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in the Education Department’s press release.
The new relief intends to pay down the loans of borrowers who were originally denied acceptance or who have still not received relief after making the 120 required monthly payments.
“Today’s announcement comes on top of the significant progress we’ve made for students and borrowers over the past three years,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
“That includes approving debt cancelation for nearly 5 million Americans across all our various debt relief actions; providing the largest increases to the maximum Pell Grant award in over a decade; fixing Income-Driven Repayment so borrowers get the relief they earned; and holding colleges accountable for taking advantage of students and families,” Biden said.
Resources available for students affected by the recent hurricanes
Hurricanes Helene and Milton have wreaked havoc on many communities in the south, causing serious physical damage and severely disrupting educational services. In response, the U.S. Department of Education released resources to help students and institutions of higher education recover.
“I have directed our team at the Department of Education to leverage every possible resource available to meet the needs of impacted students, families and school communities,” Cardona said.
The new resources include support for recovery needs like mental health care for students and educators, technical assistance and flexible financial aid policies at affected universities. Many students are also automatically being enrolled in natural disaster forbearance, so they don’t have to worry about their loans while recovering from the hurricanes.
Most of these resources will be concentrated on Georgia, which has seen a substantial amount of damage. The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center is a specific program Georgians have access to. It helps education agencies manage their safety, security and emergency management programs.
The Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center is another option that offers resources and links from organizations that help families and children, including those with disabilities, cope with disasters.
$70 million in federal funding going to schools for additional mental health services
Along with aid to student loan borrowers and students affected by natural disasters, the Biden administration is also directing federal funding towards mental health services in K-12 schools. The administration announced a $70 million investment that will expand students’ access to mental health support.
“We know that students are more likely to access mental health support if it’s offered in schools, and our educators and school communities are on the front lines when a student is struggling,” Cardona said in the announcement.
“The need for mental health support in our schools remains high,” Cardona said. “Today’s announcement of an additional $70 million will allow more institutions and schools to train and hire mental health professionals – especially in underserved communities – ensuring that every student has access to the care they need to thrive.”
The new funding, combined with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) investments, will go to 333 grantees across 48 states. It will help communities train and hire 4,000 more mental health professionals across the country.
To see what you’d pay on a private student loan, you can visit Credible today to view a rates table that allows you to compare fixed and variable rates from multiple lenders.
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Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Procter & Gamble — The stock fell 0.8% after reporting weaker-than-expected revenue. The household goods maker posted $21.74 billion in revenue while analysts polled by LSEG had estimated $21.91 billion. The company attributed the miss to lower demand in China. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.93 topped estimates of $1.90 per share. Netflix — Shares popped 6.3% after the streaming giant exceeded Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations. Netflix reported earnings per share of $5.40 on revenue of $9.83 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast earnings of $5.12 a share on revenue of m $9.77 billion. The company also saw its ad-supported membership tier jump 34% quarter-over-quarter. CVS Health – Shares tumbled 11% after the drug store chain announced longtime executive David Joyner has replaced Karen Lynch as CEO. CVS also guided for third-quarter adjusted earnings between $1.05 and $1.10 per share, less than the $1.69 a share expected from analysts polled by Fact Set. WD-40 — The maintenance product maker’s shares fell 4% after a disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share, versus FactSet consensus forecasts of earnings of $1.34 per share. Full-year earnings guidance between $5.20 and $5.45 per share also came in short of estimates for $5.69 per share. Western Alliance Bancorp — The regional bank stock dropped more than 4%. Despite posting a top-line beat of $823 million in revenue versus LSEG analysts’ estimates for $808 million, net interest income fell 3% in the third-quarter. American Express — Shares of the credit card company ticked down 3.4% on a mixed earnings report. Revenue of $16.64 billion fell short of the LSEG consensus forecast for $16.67 billion. However, earnings of $3.49 per share topped forecasts of $3.28. Apple — The tech giant advanced 2% after Bloomberg reported that iPhone sales in China jumped 20% year-over-year in the first three weeks of sales. Coherent — The semiconductor materials stock tumbled more than 5% after B.Riley downgraded shares to neutral from buy, citing limited upside potential after shares soared 142% in 2024. SLB — Shares dipped 1.7% after Schlumberger posted third-quarter revenue that fell short of estimates. Revenue of $9.16 billion fell below the $9.25 billion LSEG consensus forecast. On the other hand, adjusted earnings of 89 cents per share topped the 88 cents earnings per share expectation. Intuitive Surgical — The stock added more than 6% after the maker of the da Vinci surgical robot beat on both top and bottom lines in the third quarter. Intuitive Surgical earned $1.84 per share on $2.04 billion in revenue, while analysts surveyed by LSEG had predicted earnings of $1.63 per share on $2 billion in revenue. Ally Financial – The digital bank stock fell nearly 1% despite earnings beating analysts’ estimates in the third quarter. The company announced adjusted earnings per share of 95 cents on $2.1 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had called for 52 cents earnings per share and revenue of $2.03 billion. Crown Holdings — The consumer goods packaging company ticked up more than 4% after raising its full-year guidance. Crown Holdings is guiding toward adjusted earnings per share falling between $6.25 and $6.35 per share. Analysts had expected $6.15 earnings per share, per FactSet. Adjusted earnings topped estimates in the third quarter, while revenue came in line with forecasts. Comerica — Shares of the mid-sized bank ticked up nearly 1% after a stronger-than-expected report for the third quarter. Comerica generated $1.33 in earnings per share on $534 million of revenue, compared to $1.17 per share and $527.9 million of revenue expected by analysts, according to FactSet. Net income for the bank was down year over year. — CNBC’s Pia Singh, Sarah Min, Jesse Pound, Michelle Fox contributed reporting