The developers of Black Myth: Wukong return with a new single-player action RPG rooted in Chinese folklore, while hinting that a true sequel may also be on the horizon.
During Gamescom Opening Night Live, Game Science finally showed off Black Myth: Zhong Kui, the second game in its quickly expanding Black Myth series. Even though the show was just a short announcement, the news of it sent shockwaves through the industry. This new game will officially be a single-player action role-playing game based on the story of the famous Chinese folk hero Zhong Kui, who was said to have defeated ghosts and demons.
Even though no gameplay has been shown yet, the reveal makes it clear what the studio’s goals are: Game Science isn’t just building a world based on the huge success of Black Myth: Wukong. Geoff Keighley, the show’s host, said, “The Westward Journey won’t end here”. This suggests that a full-length follow-up to Black Myth: Wukong is already being planned. If this is true, the company might be working on two big projects at the same time: Black Myth: Zhong Kui is still in the early stages of development, and Wukong 2 might happen.
The time of this reveal is not a fluke. Ten million copies of Black Myth: Wukong were sold in the first three days, making it a worldwide sensation. It also set a Steam record for the most concurrent players ever for a single-player game. Even though it didn’t win Game of the Year, it did win the prestigious Player’s Choice award, which was decided entirely by gamers. This shows how influential and long-lasting it was.
Wukong also showed that Chinese developers can not only fight on the world stage, but also change it. Many people think that Western companies need to wake up because China, Korea, and Japan are making some of the most ambitious and new games in the business. Western developers follow trends, but Asian teams are moving the medium forward with bold stories and designs that don’t give in.
Black Myth: Zhong Kui is not only the next game in a series, but also the start of a new era in the growth of video games around the world. If Wukong was the intro, then Zhong Kui is the follow-up, and it could make Game Science even more of a force in shaping the future of action RPGs.
