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Every editor Duan Lian

Black Myth: Wukong, a Chinese-made stand-alone game based on the Chinese mythical novel Journey to the West, was launched globally on the 20th, becoming the focus of global gamers.The number of people playing the game online at the same time on Steam reached 2.337 million, setting a new record。

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning hosted a regular press conference on the 21st. A reporter asked, the video game "Black Myth: Wukong" has been popular in the gaming industry since it was launched on Tuesday, and has left a deep impression on players with its cultural characteristics. How does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs view the impact of this game?

Mao Ning said: "Thank you for letting me pay attention to this game. From the name, this game is based on the famous Chinese classical literature "Journey to the West", which I think also reflects the appeal of Chinese culture."

Image source: CCTV Finance

The development took 7 years and the investment was RMB 300-400 million.

Analysts expect sales to exceed 2 billion yuan

What is a 3A game? 3A refers to "A lot of time" (a lot of development time), "A lot of resources" (a lot of resources), and "A lot of money" (a lot of money). A well-crafted 3A game can often bring a better experience to players. This type of game usually has a huge world view, beautiful graphics, rich content and a profound plot. Previously, the Chinese console game market was almost completely occupied by foreign games. The advent of "Black Myth: Wukong" filled the gap that there were no 3A games in China before.

The development cost of Black Myth: Wukong is very high, and the game is well made. According to Feng Ji, the producer of Black Myth: Wukong, the development cost of the game is about 15 million to 20 million yuan per hour. The team estimated that the overall game time is more than 15 hours, but the actual time is more than 1.5 times this time. According to this estimate,The development cost is at least 300 million to 400 million yuan.。

The success of the game is the result of a whopping 400 million yuan in cost plus seven years of polishing. Can such a huge investment pay off?

It is reported that the standard edition of "Black Myth: Wukong" is priced at 268 yuan, and the deluxe edition is priced at 328 yuan. As of the evening of the 20th, more than 3 million copies have been sold on Steam. Together with Wegame, Epic and PS platforms, the total sales volume has exceeded 4.5 million copies, with total sales exceeding 1.5 billion yuan.

But this is just the sales volume. To calculate whether the cost has been recovered, the platform commission must be removed. Steam, PS5, and Wegame all take a 30% commission. Based on a cost of 400 million yuan, the game needs sales of more than 570 million yuan to break even. In this way, "Black Myth: Wukong" has recovered its cost on the day of its release, which is undoubtedly beyond expectations for domestic 3A games. Some analysts estimate that based on the current sales performance, "Black Myth: Wukong" may sell about 8 million copies in the future. Calculated at a price of 268 yuan per copy, the final sales of the game will exceed 2 billion yuan.

Public information shows that Game Science, the producer of Black Myth: Wukong, was founded in 2014 by former core members of Tencent's DouZhengShen project, Feng Ji, Yang Qi and others. In the past few years, Game Science has launched several mobile games, including Hundred Generals and Art of War: Red Tide. Among them, Black Myth: Wukong, a stand-alone/console game based on the Journey to the West, is its flagship stand-alone game.

According to Tianyancha, the actual controller of Game Science is Feng Ji, who holds 38.76% of the shares; the second largest shareholder is Shenzhen Youke Interactive Enterprise Management Center, which holds 27.36% of the shares. The actual controller is also Feng Ji, which means that Feng Ji, as a start-up team of the game, holds more than 66% of the shares. In addition, Hero Entertainment holds 19% of the shares through its subsidiary Tianjin Hero Financial Holdings Technology Co., Ltd.; Tencent holds 5% of the shares through its subsidiary.

Working hard for 7 years is not as profitable as playing mobile games for a few months

Why is it necessary to make domestic 3A games?

It seems that with a cost of 400 million yuan and an estimated sales of 2 billion yuan, Black Myth: Wukong has a very good profit margin. But in fact, the profitability of a single-player game with a buyout system is difficult to compare with the continuous profitability of online games and mobile games. For example, the DNF mobile game launched this year, with an estimated turnover of 1.971 billion yuan on the App Store in just 41 days, is almost the same as the final estimated sales of Black Myth: Wukong.

A senior gamer said that mobile games are like TV dramas, which have fixed update requirements, so it is difficult to completely calm down and repeatedly polish the content. Even a masterpiece like "Genshin Impact" has the problem of uneven quality of content in different versions. 3A stand-alone games are like blockbuster movies, which require a long time of careful polishing, high investment and high risk. If they fail, they will lose all their money. Even if they succeed, they will probably not make as much money as a hit TV drama in the end.

At present, we already have mobile games like "Genshin Impact" and "Honkai Impact 3" that have won TGA annual awards and become popular all over the world, but there is almost no 3A field. The emergence of "Black Myth: Wukong" fills this gap, just as "The Wandering Earth" fills the gap in my country's hard science fiction movies. "Some positions, if you don't occupy them, will be occupied by others." He said.

Just like the film and television industry, top stars are invited to buy big IPs to make TV series, web series or low-cost movies, with low risks and high returns, which are naturally favored by capital. However, there are very few directors and companies willing to make big productions like "The Wandering Earth". Therefore, before "Black Myth: Wukong", there has never been a self-developed 3A game in China. To a certain extent, the long-term lack of 3A masterpieces is a manifestation of the game industry's eagerness for quick success. As early as 2007, Feng Ji, CEO of Game Science, published a long article titled "Who Murdered Our Games", in which he criticized the current situation of the game industry at that time. A large part of the reason for the failure of self-developed games is related to the greedy nature of capital.

So why make 3A games?

According to China News Service, excellent 3A games can not only attract a large group of game fans, but also often break down barriers within the game industry and become a carrier of cross-cultural communication. Industry insiders pointed out that such games not only provide entertainment, but also carry profound artistic and social connotations, which can stimulate extensive discussions, influence mainstream culture, and even shape a new cultural trend.

For example, this game, which is based on Journey to the West, includes well-known ancient buildings in many parts of China. The architectural models were restored by the game team after field investigations, such as the Thousand-Armed Guanyin in Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing. Among them, Xiaoxitian, Jade Emperor Temple, Iron Buddha Temple, etc. are all taken from cultural relics all over China, triggering a wave of "check-in fever" in the cultural and tourism industry.

Zeng Tu, associate professor at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, analyzed that the combination of "game + ancient architecture" has precedents in the world. The game highly restores a large number of ancient Chinese buildings, and also gives Chinese and foreign players the opportunity to learn about ancient Chinese architecture.

In the opinion of Internet analyst Ding Daoshi, the success of the game "Black Myth: Wukong" further demonstrates that games are an important carrier for cultural outreach. It is based on the traditional Chinese Journey to the West and has attracted the attention of global players through its exquisite graphics, rich plots and unique gameplay. In this way, it has further expanded the influence of China's four great classics around the world, allowing more people to understand and love China's traditional culture.

For a long time,3A games are monopolized by Europe, America and Japan. Understanding the story background of overseas games is a compulsory course for domestic players.. For players, games are a "cross-cultural bridge". In the past, Chinese players have experienced this process of cross-cultural understanding. Now it is the turn of overseas players to learn "Journey to the West" and understand Chinese traditional culture. Foreign game media Gameranx commented: The game is full of surprises, and minor flaws cannot cover up the excellence of the game. Some foreign game media also pointed out that they were confused because they could not understand the story of "Black Myth: Wukong" and needed to make up for it in advance.

Image source: CCTV Finance

Overseas, game enthusiasts are also actively releasing videos on cultural interpretations of Black Myth: Wukong. Although some of the content may not be accurate, the creative team does not mind. "Games are a product that allows players around the world to exchange experiences and share happiness. We welcome different voices," said Feng Ji.

From the first step of going global, Black Myth: Wukong has succeeded. But in Feng Ji's words, this may just be the starting point. "Just because it has a national style label, we can't lower the quality. We should have a greater sense of responsibility and make more efforts. Good content products will naturally impress the local cultural groups first, and if the quality is high enough, it will naturally radiate overseas."

How do 3A games make money?

Expert: Forming a stable IP effect is the key

Big production, huge investment, low returns, in the gaming industry 3A games seem to have become synonymous with "generating electricity for love". How can domestic high-quality game manufacturers such as Game Science find a positive cycle path that is both fun and profitable?

We may be able to find some experience in the business models of some major foreign game companies.

Take Rockstar Games, a world-renowned game developer, for example. Its classic works such as the Grand Theft Auto series (GTA) and the Red Dead Redemption series are undoubtedly the benchmarks for 3A games worldwide. According to data, Red Dead Redemption 2 cost $800 million and took eight years to develop, with more than 2,000 employees participating in its development. The budget for Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5) reached $265 million.

The high investment has naturally brought huge profits to the company. Since the release of "GTA 5" at the end of 2013, Rockstar Games has earned more than $9 billion (about 64.2 billion yuan) from the "Grand Theft Auto" series. The above revenue includes the sales of the full set of "GTA 5" on three generations of game consoles, the sales of the "Grand Theft Auto: Trilogy - Ultimate Edition" re-released in 2020, the in-game purchases of "GTA Online" and the sales of other games in the series. So far, the global sales of "GTA5" have exceeded 200 million copies. It is worth noting that this is a game that has been released for nearly 10 years and still has a strong ability to attract money today.

"It's not that 3A games don't make money, it's just that it's not that easy to make money, because 3A games are too dependent on IP. If you want to make continuous profits, the most important thing is to continue to develop series of works." Game analyst Shu Tong told the Blue Whale News reporter that Ubisoft has the "Assassin's Creed" series, Activision has the "Call of Duty" series and the "Destiny" series, and EA has the "Star Wars" series and the "Battlefield" series. Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto" is the most classic. Since the first "Grand Theft Auto" was released in 1997, the game has more than ten series of works. Well-known game manufacturers in Europe and the United States all have their own stable series of works. Once a stable IP effect is formed, a positive cycle of both acclaim and popularity can be achieved.

As it said, behind the popularity of "Black Myth: Wukong", Game Science may have been prepared to continue developing the series of works. It is reported that Game Science has applied to register multiple related trademarks such as "Black Myth·Shanhai, Black Myth·Dahuang, Black Myth·Soushen, Black Myth·Xiaoqian, Black Myth·Zhongkui, Black Myth·Jiang Ziya".

Previously, an insider revealed that Game Science is likely to turn to the development of the above-mentioned games after the release of the "Black Myth: Wukong" DLC.

All things are difficult at the beginning. Black Myth: Wukong has opened a new era for domestic 3A games. Its success can help Game Science firmly embark on the path of self-developed high-quality games. The success of Genshin Impact has led to the establishment of a large number of high-quality mobile games. With the example of Black Myth: Wukong, there will surely be more domestic 3A masterpieces emerging in the future.

edit|Duan Lian Gai Yuanyuan

Proofreading|Wang Yuelong