China’s blockbuster video game Black Myth: Wukong is driving a wave of economic activities across multiple sectors, creating a “Wukong economy” from tourism to computer accessories amid soft domestic demand.
The success of China’s first triple-A premium game, based on the literary figure Monkey King from the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, has led to a travel boom in parts of China, increased demand for gaming hardware upgrades and a surge in spending on drinks and wellness services, according to local authorities and businesses.
An overnight sensation since it was released last week, the 3D role-playing game came as consumer spending is increasingly regarded as the key to revving up the engine of the world’s second-largest economy amid subdued external demand and a property market slump.
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As of Monday afternoon, sales of Black Myth, which has been developed by Tencent Holdings-backed start-up studio Game Science, topped 15.4 million copies, with revenue from the title on video gaming platform Steam totalling over US$737 million, according to market research company Video Game Insights.
Calling Black Myth a “good-looking and fun-to-play” game, professor Shi Lei from Fudan University’s School of Economics said it represented a cross-cultural demand hotspot on an international scale.
Its success “offers valuable insights into how China should seek and expand new areas, models, and hotspots in cultural consumption”, he said.
The Department of Culture and Tourism in Shanxi province, where most of the locations and set pieces featured in the game are located, released a video last week that showcased the real-world attractions in response to a surge in “Wukong travel”.
In its “Travel Shanxi with Wukong” campaign launched on Thursday, it vowed to introduce themed travel routes, cultural products and events centred around the game.
The game meticulously recreates numerous Chinese architectural marvels, from polychrome Buddha statues to intricate roof decorations, fuelling a growing interest in Shanxi’s historical sites.
According to data from Chinese shopping platform Meituan, on August 20 alone, the popularity of Shanxi’s tourist attractions surged by 156 per cent, with game locations such as Yungang Grottoes, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda and Guanque Tower top destinations.
As external demand has slipped and the property market collapsed, China has been pinning its hopes on consumer spending to pick up the slack.
Retail sales of consumer goods, a gauge of household spending, increased by just 2.7 per cent from a year ago in July, although it was faster than June’s 2 per cent growth and better than a consensus forecast by Bloomberg.
In the first seven months of the year, retail sales rose by 3.5 per cent from the same period last year.
Yin Zhenxing, director of the Jade Emperor Temple Polychrome Sculpture Museum in Shanxi province, said the game’s public testing and promotional activities had led to record-breaking visitor numbers, with over 50,000 in just six months.
“Around 40 per cent of these tourists learned about the site through the game,” Yin said, according to Chinese media outlet Yicai.
George Li, a senior engineer and shareholder of a game company in Shenzhen, said Black Myth had become popular because it was the first successful product to combine China’s traditional culture with the international technology engines.
Its impressive sales on global gaming platforms “certainly demonstrates the influence of China’s so-called ‘soft power’ and the role of cultural output”, he added.
And due to the game’s high requirement for hardware, demand for consoles and other accessories has also risen, according to Li Xiang, a store owner in a computer and electronics market in the southern city of Guangzhou.
Most consumers choose the 4070 super graphics card, which brings the cost of a PC to around 12,000 yuan (US$1,684), although the hardware is in short supply, he said.
Stocks of Sony’s PlayStation 5 (PS5) console are also widely out of stock on major e-commerce platforms in China, Li added.
“We had about a dozen units in stock, and soon sold out the first day of the game’s release,” he said.
On Idle Fish, China’s leading marketplace for second-hand goods, many sellers highlighted “playable with Black Myth” when selling used PS5s, with prices ranging from around 1,300 yuan to 3,000 yuan.
Last week, Luckin Coffee also launched a special edition Cloud Riding Americano in collaboration with Black Myth, priced at 11.02 yuan (US$1.5) per cup after discount.
It marked the first time Luckin had partnered with a gaming partner to release a product, aligning with its strategy of leveraging collaborations to maintain brand visibility.
According to a report by live-streaming platform Kuaishou, where the drink was introduced during a session on Wednesday, orders via the platform had skyrocketed by more than 125 per cent per day.
In addition to food and beverage, the game has also made its way into wellness services.
Several bathhouses, including Beijing’s After Spa, have incorporated Black Myth into their offerings, according to digital news app Economic View.
Most of the guests in the spa’s game area were playing the game, according to a video report, while its manager, a man surnamed Yu, said he was preparing a mini-guide to help customers.
More from South China Morning Post:
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