The gaming world has a new legend, and it is Black Myth: Wukong. With probably the most astounding debut this single-player action RPG had not only met but smashed expectations—pretty high for record-crushing launches on Steam.
Within hours of its release, Black Myth: Wukong has hit Steam’s all-time most-played list with a staggering peak of 1,249,525 players in the game.
This puts the launch numbers far higher than those of many of gaming’s most iconic titles, like Hogwarts Legacy, which peaked at 879,000 players; Elden Ring, peaking at 953,000 players; and Cyberpunk 2077, peaking at 1.054 million players according to SteamDB.
The velocity and large scale of Wukong‘s success have been astounding to the gaming community. In less time than it takes to brew a cup of coffee, Black Myth: Wukong changed from being the most-wishlisted game on Steam to the most played, etching its name in the history of gaming.
Next on the hit list of Wukong are the multiplayer giants like Dota 2, PUBG, or Palworld. Though such games have huge concurrent player records—PUBG hit 3.26 million in January 2018, and Palworld reached 2.1 million this past January 2024—Wukong is well on its way to challenge those numbers without the multiplayer advantage.
What’s even more impressive is the fact that these insane player counts are being pulled off prior to noon in China, with much of the global gaming community yet to get involved. As more and more parts of the world start waking up, Black Myth: Wukong‘s numbers are going to soar even higher.
Whether Wukong is going to dethrone the multiplayer heavyweights is yet to be seen, but one thing is very clear: the name Black Myth: Wukong is already enshrined as a part of gaming mythos.
