Popular Chinese video game "Black Myth: Wukong" has kicked off a massive market frenzy, with collectible action figures and co-branded coffee selling out almost immediately, highlighting the game’s extensive appeal and impact on related merchandise.
Following its release on Tuesday, the game quickly reached over two million concurrent players on Steam, a popular video game distribution platform, on Wednesday, marking the second-best result of all time on the platform.
With over 10 million copies sold across all platforms in just three days after its release, it stands as the most successful Chinese video game to date.
The merchandise action figure of the protagonist "Destined One," an anthropomorphic monkey inspired by Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from the 16th-century Chinese classic Journey to the West, stands 40 cm tall with a rotable head, arms, and legs.
This figure, developed by a cultural creation company based in Hangzhou, provincial capital of east China's Zhejiang province, has become a hit since its release ahead of the game's debut on August 20.
"We've enhanced this action figure by adding movable eyes, allowing players to adjust the eyeballs using a tool from the back of the head. We selected a model with intricate details, including shoulder armor and various accessories," said Liu Zhuo, co-founder of the cultural creation company.
The design of this action figure began in 2022. From the initial concept sketches to the final production model, the team undertook numerous revisions, carefully refining every detail to ensure the highest quality and accuracy before its release.
On June 8, when the game began its pre-sales, the collector's edition of "the Destined One" figure, limited to 10,000 sets, sold out almost instantly on e-commerce platforms.
"In the future, we aim to create more high-quality products and further promote the Wukong series and other aspects of Chinese culture," said Li Zhe, chief operations officer of the cultural creation company.
Additionally, the co-branded "Black Myth: Tengyun Americano" from Luckin Coffee has surged in popularity.
In Wuyi County of Zhejiang's Jinhua City, the co-branded Americano has become a top seller, with daily sales reaching 100 cups. Co-branded cup sleeves, paper bags, and limited-edition 3D posters have also sold out.
Data from the e-commerce platform JD.com reveal that from 20:00 on Aug 19 to midnight on August 20, sales of the game’s co-branded merchandise exceeded 15 million yuan (over 2 million U.S. dollars), with the transaction volume for game-related products up over 150 percent year-on-year.
"Black Myth: Wukong" merchandise sparks market frenzy
"Black Myth: Wukong" merchandise sparks market frenzy
