It’s good to know that injecting new ideas in a tried-and-true genre like the Soulslike -From Software-influenced challenging action RPGs that tests your patience- and slow-but-steady marketing equals potential hit in your hands. Such is the case of the new action RPG Black Myth: Wukong.

Essentially a love child of Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and the Journey to the West novel, players control the titular Wukong as he explores the world he’s in and fights a ton of mythical Chinese monsters and deities as bosses using his shapeshifting prowess, magic, and size-changing bo-staff(?). That, and its gorgeous-looking world and tight gameplay showcased in dozens of marketing trailers equal a ton of players jumping on board the flying cloud train. Of course, the Tencent-backing doesn’t hurt either. How many? Try 1.4 million players! 

Thanks to recent data from SteamDB, the PC Steam version of Black Myth: Wukong is at 1,443,570 players; an all-time peak since 5 hours ago at this point in writing. Currently the player count is at 1,404,131 right now at the game’s launch period.

As of right now, the game is at number #1 in the Most Played Games on Steam, surpassing long-reigning champions Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 for now.

Top-Played Steam Games As Of 20 August 2024

1.Black Myth: Wukong – 1.4 million players
2. Counter-Strike 2 – 877k
3. Banana – 414k
4. Dota 2 – 401k
5. PUBG – 285k
6. Naraka: Bladepoint – 124k
7. Grand Theft Auto 5 – 116k
8. Source SDK Base 2007 – 88k
9. Apex Legends – 88k
10.Wallpaper Engine -87k

Black Myth: Wukong has also been getting good scores on sites like OpenCritic and MetaCritic, averaging in the 80s (out of 100). The game is praised for its combat, boss fights, controls, and beautiful graphics and art style.

Keep in mind that this is a single-player game, so the aforementioned numbers will most likely drop after a month or so. Still, it is an impressive debut for a hyped-up game which is steep in some controversy as of late.

What’s Wrong With Black Myth: Wukong?

The problem isn’t so much the game as it is the reputation of its company Game Science.

The game’s creators Game Science are accused of adopting a culture of sexism in its workplace. The stories have been chronicled by IGN writer/freelancers Rebekah Valentine and Khee Hoon Chan, with the company’s individuals and workers allegedly posting multiple references to genitalia and sexual innuendoes, and complaints from female employees following suit.

The most recent controversy is the email sent by the game’s creators Game Science that is offering pre-launch Steam keys to content creators (via IGN), but they cannot talk about “feminist propaganda” and all talk of COVID. The “Don’t” category from the free game code stipulations are below:

• Do NOT insult other influencers or players.
• Do NOT use any offensive language/humor.
• Do NOT include politics, violence, nudity, feminist propaganda, fetishization, and other content that instigates negative discourse.
• Do NOT use trigger words such as ‘quarantine’ or ‘isolation’ or ‘COVID-19’.
• Do NOT discuss content related to China’s game industry policies, opinions, news, etc.

Nonetheless, this has yet to affect the reputation and quality of the game. It’s right now being played by a million or so players on Steam. It remains to be seen if the public backlash will get stronger, or if there’s even any allegedly at all to begin with.