Summary
Black Myth: Wukonghas enjoyed an incredibly impressive start to life. Game Science’s title sold ten million copies in the first three days and broke multiple records on Steam. The game registered the most concurrent players for a single-player title, caused Steam to hit over 37 million concurrent players for the first time ever, and ensuredChina used over an exabyte of dataon the platform.
While many players have happily made their way through the game, absorbing the lore as they proceeded, it seems that Wukong has made others curious, causing a massive spike in sales of thesource materialin the Western world.
Journey To The West Second-Hand Book Sales Skyrocket
30% more books have been sold in the last 22 days
For those unfamiliar, Black Myth: Wukong is inspired by the 16th-century Chinese novelJourney to the West. The novel, which is split into four parts, details the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, as he is trapped under a mountain and the events that follow, much like the recent video game release.
With millions of copies of the game sold, both in China and the West, it seems that people are looking to immerse themselves in Wukong lore by purchasing copies of the original book.
We analyzed data from eBay in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia and found that between May 19 and August 18, three months before Black Myth: Wukong’s release, the book sold around 93 copies. In the 22 days since the game launched, around 122 copies have been sold across the four eBay locations. This data includes any copy of Journey to the West, including individual volumes and the abridged version.
While the data set is relatively small, the book has seen 31 percent more sales over a 22-day period than it did across the whole of the previous three months, suggesting that Black Myth: Wukong has at least somewhat impacted sales.
eBay UK
20
28
eBay US
65
85
eBay CA
2
eBay AU
8
7
Black Myth: Wukong’s impact has been felt the world over. While players in the West are getting their fill of Chinese fiction, landmarks that are prominently featured in Wukong areoffering free entry to players who can prove that they have beaten the game.
Black Myth: Wukong
WHERE TO PLAY
Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG rooted in Chinese mythology and based on Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.You shall set out as the Destined One to venture into the challenges and marvels ahead, to uncover the obscured truth beneath the veil of a glorious legend from the past.As the Destined One, you shall encounter powerful foes and worthy rivals throughout your journey. Fearlessly engage them in epic battles where surrender is not an option.Aside from mastering various staff techniques, you may also freely combine different spells, abilities, weapons, and equipment to find the winning strategy that best suits your combat style.
