"We were two drowning rats": Game Science investor bet everything on Black Myth: Wukong, which already sold 18 million copies
Black Myth: Wukong has reached a new impressive milestone two weeks after its launch. Here is some data shared by Game Science’s biggest external investor.
- In 2017, Daniel Wu acquired a 20% stake in Game Science through his own studio Hero Games. The deal was worth 60 million yuan ($8.5 million), and Wu told Bloomberg that the Black Myth: Wukong developer is now valued at several billion yuan.
- He revealed that the game cost $70 million to develop over six years, with Hero Games contributed to a “large chunk” of that.
- According to Wu, Black Myth: Wukong sold 18 million copies across PC and PlayStation 5 in two weeks, recouping its budget many times over. The share of each platform remains undisclosed, but Steam likely accounts for the lion’s share of the total.
- The new figures means the game has amassed another 8 million units since hitting the 10 million mark in its first three days. Hero Games believes that lifetime sales could reach 30 million copies.
- Despite such as massive success, Game Science struggled for years in the lead up to the launch of Black Myth: Wukong. The studio made three mobile titles, none of which became hits. However, Wu didn’t lose his faith in the team and its co-founder Feng Ji.
- “We were two drowning rats,” he told Bloomberg. “Neither of us was afraid of failure, and [Feng] already knew his next step. The only thing is that he needed me to place even bigger bet.”
- This bet likely more than paid off. According to Niko Partners’ Daniel Ahmad, Black Myth: Wukong has already generated $700 million in revenue, behind only Call of Duty’s record-breaking $1 billion in 10 days.
- Game Science currently plans to make an expansion for Black Myth: Wukong to further boost its worldwide success.
