Black Myth’s Untold Profits: Beyond Your Wildest Dreams | Game Science’s Billion-Dollar Strategy Revealed
Wukong vs Honor of Kings
“Black Myth: Wukong”, hailed as “China’s first AAA game masterpiece”, has taken the world by storm.
Within four days of its release, it sold 10 million copies globally. In a week, that number soared to 15 million, and by the two-week mark, sales had reached 18 million. The game’s revenue is approaching $900 million, equivalent to about 6.5 billion yuan.
Behind this frenzy lies a series of intriguing questions:
How much money has “Black Myth: Wukong” made in such a short time? What factors contributed to its phenomenal success?
Looking ahead, how much commercial value can the “Black Myth” franchise generate? When compared to the mobile gaming juggernaut “Honor of Kings”, is “Black Myth” merely catching a whiff of its exhaust, or can it potentially overtake it? And ultimately, are AAA games truly less profitable than mobile games?
How Gaming Industry Works
To answer these questions, let’s first delve into the mechanics of the gaming industry.
The gaming industry’s value chain primarily consists of three components: development, publishing, and distribution.
Development companies include familiar names like Tencent, NetEase, miHoYo, and Sony, as well as Game Science, the studio behind “Black Myth: Wukong”. These companies are responsible for creating the games themselves.
Publishing companies handle game releases and marketing. Large gaming companies like Tencent and miHoYo often manage their own publishing.
Distribution channels are the platforms that connect games with players, much like how Taobao or Amazon connect merchants’ products with consumers.
Let’s start by examining game development costs.
In 2023, the development cost for Sony’s “Horizon Forbidden West” reached $212 million, surpassing the production budgets of many Hollywood blockbusters.
For AAA games like “Black Myth: Wukong”, substantial investment and years of development are the norm.
Now, let’s look at distribution channels. For mobile games, the Apple App Store and Google Play serve as primary channels. For console games — those typically played with controllers on televisions — Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s PlayStation, and Nintendo’s Switch are the main platforms. For PC games, Steam is the most prominent channel.
Generally, distribution platforms take a 30% cut. For instance, when Game Science sells “Black Myth: Wukong” for $100, $30 goes to platforms like Steam.
Finally, let’s discuss game revenue.
According to Statista, in 2023, the single-player game market in China is worth $2 billion — seemingly small compared to the online mobile gaming market which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, but it has grown twentyfold in seven years.
In comparison, the U.S. single-player game market was already at $10 billion in 2016, with Japan at $5 billion.
Feng Ji, the founder and CEO of Game Science, decided to develop “Black Myth: Wukong” based on his judgment of the enormous potential and growth space in China’s single-player game market.
How Much Has Black Myth Earned
Returning to “Black Myth: Wukong”, how much money can such a popular game earn?
Let’s first look at costs. According to Feng Ji, “Black Myth: Wukong” has been in development since 2018, taking about seven years. The development cost per hour of player experience is approximately 15–20 million yuan. Assuming at least 20 hours of gameplay, the development cost is around 400 million yuan.
Moreover, public information shows that Game Science has about 140 employees, with nearly 300 additional outsourced partners and collaborators working on art, special effects, animation, and other production aspects. Considering local game industry salaries and related expenses, the development cost of “Black Myth: Wukong” approaches 500 million yuan.
Based on these calculations, we can conservatively estimate the development cost of “Black Myth: Wukong” at around 500 million yuan, or $70 million.
This cost is far lower than many international AAA titles, such as “Red Dead Redemption 2” at $800 million and “Cyberpunk 2077” at $1.15 billion.
For marketing and distribution costs, based on industry averages, we can roughly estimate these expenses at 10% of revenue for “Black Myth: Wukong”.
As for distribution fees, as mentioned earlier, platforms typically take a 30% cut.
Since Game Science used Unreal Engine 5 to create the game, they also need to pay 5% of game revenue as an engine licensing fee.
In terms of revenue, “Black Myth: Wukong” is priced at 268 yuan for the standard edition in mainland China, and between 300 to 500 yuan in overseas markets.
According to market research firm VG Insights, as of September 5th, “Black Myth: Wukong” has sold over 18.1 million copies worldwide, accumulating revenue of $866 million, or over 6.1 billion yuan.
Huatai Securities analysts suggest that the game’s annual sales could reach 30–40 million copies, corresponding to a revenue of 10 billion yuan, with overseas revenue accounting for about 20%.
Considering only the 6.1 billion yuan revenue generated in about two weeks since launch, 10% for marketing and distribution (610 million yuan), 30% for platform fees (1.8 billion yuan), and 5% for engine licensing (300 million yuan) totals 2.7 billion yuan. After subtracting the 500 million yuan development cost, “Black Myth: Wukong” has brought Game Science nearly 3 billion yuan in profit within two weeks of its release.
Sources of Success
The success of “Black Myth: Wukong” is the result of multiple factors working together:
First, technical and quality advantages: The game showcases advanced technology in graphics rendering, physics engines, spatial computation, and motion capture. While still lagging behind top international AAA games in some aspects, it has achieved a remarkably high standard in visual quality and gaming experience.
Second, cultural content and IP value: Based on the world of “Journey to the West,” the game deeply explores elements of traditional Chinese culture and mythological backgrounds.
Third, market timing and player demand: “Black Myth: Wukong” arrived at a time when China’s single-player game market was experiencing rapid growth. Chinese players have become the largest user group on the Steam platform, and there was a strong desire for high-quality domestic AAA games.
Fourth, marketing and social media propagation: Through meticulously crafted trailers and demo videos, coupled with its reputation as “China’s first AAA game” and a “Journey to the West masterpiece”, the game ignited emotions on social media and exploded in public discourse. From the release of its first trailer in 2020 to its official launch, “Black Myth: Wukong” maintained high visibility, consistently breaking through to new audiences and greatly expanding its potential player base.
Lastly, luck played an undeniable role. Yang Qi, Feng Ji’s partner and Game Science’s lead artist, jokingly remarked that Wukong’s success echoes the company’s initials, GS, which sounds like “got shit” (luck) in Chinese.
Wukong vs Honor of Kings
When discussing games, it’s impossible to overlook “Honor of Kings”.
This mobile game, developed by Tencent, has reigned supreme since its 2015 debut, becoming the first mobile game to reach $10 billion in revenue globally.
“Honor of Kings” still topped the global mobile game revenue chart in 2023 with $1.5 billion, accumulating nearly $15 billion (about 100 billion yuan) to date.
Let’s compare “Black Myth: Wukong” and “Honor of Kings”, while also trying to answer why China, despite having the world’s largest player base, biggest game market, and largest game companies, had no notable achievements in high-quality AAA games before “Black Myth: Wukong”.
“Black Myth: Wukong” and “Honor of Kings” represent different game types and business models. The former is a single-player game with a one-time purchase, similar to buying a movie ticket. The latter is a free-to-play online mobile game that generates revenue through in-game items, skins, and gacha mechanics.
Like movies, single-player games have long development cycles but often short primary sales lifespans, with the first month potentially accounting for 80% of total sales. If the quality isn’t up to par or the marketing strategy falters, years of effort could be wasted.
For instance, Sony’s AAA online shooter Concord recently faced a disastrous failure. Despite a $200 million budget (three times that of “Black Myth: Wukong”), the game had only 700 players online, received poor reviews, and announced server closure on September 6th, just weeks after launch, rendering “eight years of hard work” futile.
In contrast, free-to-play online mobile games have shorter development cycles. “Genshin Impact” took less than 3 years to develop, while “Honor of Kings” took less than a year. Being free, they have a low entry barrier. As long as the game quality is decent, it can capture players and monetize through various means like in-game items, skins, gacha, or even advertisements.
Consequently, mobile games like “Honor of Kings” have shorter development cycles, relatively lower costs, broader audiences, and more stable commercial returns, thus dominating market share.
Naturally, game companies are more willing to invest in them. Correspondingly, single-player games, which seem less rewarding, struggle to attract capital and resources from game companies.
While Chinese game companies indeed need to improve their technical capabilities, talent resources, and management skills, the more crucial factor is their willingness to invest. In other words, creating a “Black Myth” isn’t as unattainable as it might seem — if companies are willing to commit.
“Black Myth: Wukong” has proven that this seemingly unrewarding direction is actually worth investing in, or at least worth exploring and attempting.
From a broader perspective, the era of “mobile game dominance” led by titles like “Honor of Kings” and “Genshin Impact” is facing bottlenecks, with growth limitations and player aesthetic fatigue. “Black Myth: Wukong” tells players from the supply side, with tremendous impact, that high-quality Chinese AAA games are now available to play.
But can 6 billion yuan in sales compete with the 100 billion-level “Honor of Kings”?
Actually, it can. “Black Myth: Wukong” and the series it represents are just newborns with a long way to go. As Feng Ji says, for this type of game, completion is more important than perfection for Game Science.
We shouldn’t directly compare the newborn “Black Myth” with the thriving “Honor of King”.
A more reliable comparison might be with “GTA V” (Grand Theft Auto V). This AAA game, developed by American company Rockstar Games, has generated over $9 billion in revenue and sold an incredible 200 million copies since its 2013 release, proving its enduring appeal.
High game quality, online multiplayer mode, and cultural impact beyond gaming are the secrets to GTA V’s success. More importantly, this game series has built a powerful IP brand since the release of its first title in 1997 through constant updates.
Other classic examples of successful series include “Red Dead Redemption”, “Call of Duty”, and “Assassin’s Creed”, with the “Red Dead Redemption” series approaching 100 million copies sold.
So, AAA games can also make big money, but the approach is different, and Chinese games haven’t gone down this path before.
In fact, Game Science has already registered trademarks for “Black Myth: Shan Hai,” “Black Myth: Da Huang,” “Black Myth: Sou Shen,” “Black Myth: Xiao Qian,” “Black Myth: Zhong Kui,” “Black Myth: Jiang Ziya,” and more.
According to various rumors, Jiang Ziya and Zhong Kui are already in the planning stages. Moreover, there are recent signs that Game Science is considering opening up an online mode for “Black Myth: Wukong”.
China’s strongest AAA series myth is already on its way.
It’s worth noting that some traditional AAA game developers have begun to borrow and introduce the item payment model from online games. For example, the “Football Manager” series adopts an annual update model, while “Europa Universalis IV” maintains revenue by continuously launching expansion packs.
These models can bring sustained income, sometimes feeling like renting a game to play, which significantly raises the revenue ceiling for AAA games.
Considering the gaming industry’s model exploration, the rise of AI technology, and the boost from social media and capital, the “Black Myth” series already on its way doesn’t need 30 years to reach the heights of the “Grand Theft Auto” series.
If luck gives it another push, “Black Myth” might even surpass “Grand Theft Auto”, bringing “Honor of Kings” within reach.
