Black Myth: Wukong Breaks Records as Steam's Most Played Single-Player Game

Black Myth: Wukong has quickly risen to the top of Steam’s charts

Becoming the most played single-player game in the platform’s history on its launch day. The game, which debuted today, has already attracted an astounding 2,194,769 concurrent players on Steam—a number that continues to climb.

This impressive player count places Black Myth: Wukong just behind PUBG: Battlegrounds on Steam, surpassing popular titles like Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and the surprise hit Palworld.

For context, Palworld peaked at 2,101,867 concurrent players, making Black Myth: Wukong’s achievement even more remarkable. While Cyberpunk 2077 reached just over a million concurrent players at its peak, Black Myth: Wukong has set a new benchmark for single-player games.

The only title still ahead of it is PUBG: Battlegrounds, which set a record of 3,257,248 concurrent players when it was still known as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. To surpass PUBG, Black Myth: Wukong would need to gain over a million more players, a challenging feat, but one that seems possible given the game’s current momentum.

Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG where players take on the role of the mythical Wukong, drawing inspiration from the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West.

The game has been compared to titles like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and the more recent God of War, known for their challenging combat and numerous boss battles.

Given its roots in Chinese mythology, it's likely that the Chinese Steam community is significantly contributing to the game’s high player count, though Steam and SteamDB don't provide regional breakdowns of these numbers.

The game's success has been fueled by its visually stunning gameplay and previews showcasing epic boss fights. However, Black Myth: Wukong has also been in the spotlight for less favorable reasons.

Reports surfaced earlier this year alleging a culture of sexism at the game’s developer, Game Science, and guidelines purportedly given to content creators advised against mentioning topics like feminism and COVID.

Despite the controversy, these issues have only increased the game's visibility, attracting even more attention.

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Black Myth: Wukong – The Next Big Thing in Action RPGs

Black Myth: Wukong is now available on Steam and PS5, with an Xbox Series X|S version expected to release soon, though it wasn’t ready at launch.