Black Myth: Wukong: Chinese Game Breaking Records
A Chinese-made video game has taken the gaming world by storm this summer.
Gamers were talking about Black Myth: Wukong long before it was released on August 20, and it has been breaking records since then.
Less than a day after it was released, it became the second-most-played game on Steam — the online game platform — with more than 2.2 million people playing it at the same time at one point.
Before that, it had already become the platform's most-played single-player game of all time.
These are big numbers for any game, but especially for one made in China.
It has been called the first Chinese-made game to meet "triple-A" standards — that's an unofficial standard that refers to big-budget, high-quality games.
Smartphone games are extremely popular in China, but there are fewer games made for consoles and PCs. And this one has created a lot of excitement in China and around the world.
The game is based on the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. Players take on the role of the Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, and battle to defeat monsters.
The game is available on PC and PlayStation 5, and there are plans for an Xbox version too.
China's state-owned media has been quick to report on the success of the game. The Xinhua news agency said: "The default language of a triple-A game is no longer English, but Chinese."
Others believe it is a good sign for game development in China.
However, some gaming experts around the world have criticized the game's makers, Game Science.
Before the release of the game, some people were able to play it so they could review it.
But these reviewers were given a list of guidelines they had to agree to. They said they were not allowed to discuss things like Chinese politics, the country's rules on gaming or the coronavirus pandemic.
