China’s new record-setting video game is expanding its influence in gaming and beyond

That’s bananas… “Black Myth: Wukong,” a Chinese PC-console game where you play as a mythical Monkey King, set a record on the Steam game store for most first-day plays. More than 2.4M gamers played it concurrently after its debut, making it Steam’s most-played single-player title, beating “Cyberpunk 2077” and “Elden Ring.” It’s highly rated on gaming sites too. The $60 game took six years and a reported $50M+ to make, but it seems to be paying off for China.

• Mobilized: Tencent-backed developer Game Science made “Black Myth: Wukong.” Tencent is China’s top game publisher, but it’s mostly put out mobile hits like “Honor of Kings.”

• Calling AAA: “Black Myth: Wukong” is considered China’s first “AAA” game, a loosely defined term that denotes advanced graphics and gameplay.

Comin’ for consoles… China’s a major player in the global gaming industry, but mostly on mobile. “Black Myth: Wukong” signals a shift to PCs and consoles, and experts say its success could encourage Chinese companies to develop more games to rival hits from Take-Two Interactive and Microsoft-owned Bethesda. But China’s not just looking to nab a “Game of the Year” nom. “Black Myth: Wukong,” which is based on a classic Chinese novel and features Chinese landmarks, expands the country’s cultural clout, aka its “soft power” (think: the prevalence of Hollywood flicks in foreign theaters).

• A Chinese state-owned newspaper wrote, “The success of ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ is not only a victory for the gaming industry, but also an important milestone in the overseas expansion of Chinese culture.”