Some employees in China are up to a little monkey business, and their employers are all for it.
These companies have given their employees time off to play the newly launched, Chinese-developed video game Black Myth: Wukong, with some even subsidising employees’ purchases of the game.
Black Myth: Wukong was released on Aug 20, and is already hailed as one of the most successful Chinese-made ventures in gaming.
Inspired by the classic 16th-century Chinese epic novel Journey To The West, the game has raked in more than 400 million yuan (S$73 million) in pre-sales alone, shattering records for Chinese domestic games. Sun Wukong, otherwise known as the Monkey King, is a monkey born from a stone who attains powers rivalling that of the gods, eventually becoming a deity himself after undergoing a journey fraught with tribulation.
It is considered the first Chinese-developed “Triple A” title – a term used to describe major, high-budget, stand-alone games.
According to Malaysia’s Chinese-language news outlet Oriental Daily, Chinese firm Sichuan Muziyang Technology gave all its employees a day off to experience the new game.
An image purportedly of a notice from the company was also shared on social media, with Reddit users expressing envy at the move.
Singapore’s Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao reported that the company made the move as a show of support for China’s games industry, and for employees to share the gaming experience with colleagues and friends.
Also, Shanghai-based indie game publisher Gamera Games reportedly gave each of its employees a digital version of Black Myth: Wukong, while Chinese game strategy platform Game Teahouse gave its employees a half-day off to play it, and paid them back the money they used to buy copies of the game.
Commenting on Black Myth: Wukong’s popularity, its producer, Mr Feng Ji, reminded players to play in moderation and to take breaks while playing.
“Play slowly, don’t rush to complete the game. Even if you finish it, there’s nothing better after that,” he said.
The digital version of the game on the Sony PlayStation 5 platform costs $81.39 in Singapore, while the digital deluxe version – featuring extra in-game items and a soundtrack – is priced at $99.74. On digital video game distribution service Steam, the game costs $79.90 for the regular version, and $94.90 for the deluxe.
There is no physical release of the game, with developer Game Science citing a lack of resources required to produce, export and distribute discs while simultaneously launching it online. It is, however, exploring the option of releasing the game physically in the future.
Estimates by third-party organisations put the number of copies sold across all platforms at more than 1.2 million so far, reported Lianhe Zaobao.
Within 50 minutes of the game’s launch on Aug 20, the number of simultaneous online players on Steam exceeded 1.22 million.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mAnlVXtDD8[/embed]
Black Myth: Wukong began development in 2018, and was first announced in August 2020.
Awed by the game’s initial trailer, gamers were left waiting four whole years, with some giving up hope that the title would ever be released until an announcement in January 2023 revealed that it would be released the following year.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
