• Black Myth: Wukong is set to be released sometime in the winter of 2024, according to its developers.
• The game is built on Unreal Engine 5 and recent showcases reveal pristine graphics and frenetic gameplay.
• It is believed by many to be China’s first AAA game, but its developers have had to deal with some controversy in the past.

What could be China’s first AAA game has finally received a launch window. According to developer Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong is set to be released in the summer 2024. In China, summer is from June to August, which is winter in South Africa.

The announcement came as part of a new year’s animation made by the Game Science team. It uses stop-motion animation and celebrates the fact that 2023 is the year of the rabbit. It also pokes fun at the fact that the game will require a hefty rig to run.

It’s an odd little video and has some unexplained parts – why is the main rabbit in a wheelchair at the end?

Anyway, watch it below:

The release window is so far the most recent information we have for when players will be able to get their hands on the highly anticipated action-adventure title. Game Science says that it will be released on main-stream consoles and PC worldwide. Cloud gaming platforms capable of running the game smoothly are also being considered.

Black Myth: Wukong follows the story of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong as a retelling of The Journey to the West, among Asia’s most popular pieces of fiction. Currently, the game is still being listed as in the alpha stage according to its official website. Game Science says it is actively looking for “more experts” to join the game’s development.

In August last year, NVIDIA partnered with Game Science to show off an exclusive 8 minutes and 22 seconds of what is claimed to be gameplay of Black Myth: Wukong. As expected, the game looks immaculate.

Screenshots on the website also show off the game’s ridiculously high-fidelity graphics:

Reportedly, the game is running on Unreal Engine 5. Epic’s latest engine will also be used to develop the upcoming Witcher game from Poland’s CD Projekt, and is currently being used to run Fortnite.

Apart from sheer graphical power, the game is also notable for its art style, enemy design and what looks like frenetic action gameplay. In the showcase above, the player battles a particularly unique electric dragon-like enemy, and manages to defeat it after a series of combos, using items and finally transforming into what seems to be another enemy.

The gameplay itself has definitely drawn from FromSoftware’s Souls series. Even if at this point in time most third-person action games are taking something from the Elden Ring creators, very few have managed to not only succeed but to iterate on top of the now-popular gameplay loop.

Nioh creators Team Ninja come to mind, but they only managed to really do something special in Nioh’s sequel. It will be interesting to see if Black Myth: Wukong can create something that will keep players coming back other than for the brilliant visuals and beautifully realised world seen in videos and trailers.

Game Science controversy

The developers of Black Myth: Wukong came under scrutiny in 2020 after a Chinese publication’s report (contains NSFW images) alleged how the studio had a toxic work environment towards women.

That year, Game Science founder and CEO Feng Ji posted a series of inappropriate remarks on social media, joking about offering sexual acts to people who bought the game.

In another instance, a Game Science recruitment campaign from 2015 raised eyebrows for using explicit images and suggestive text in job advertisements. “In addition to hookup buddies, we promise to provide more thoughtful services,” the company wrote in one.

[Image – Game Science]