Black Myth: Wukong was a inflection point for China and its pay-to-play market

Game Science's Black Myth: Wukong was an “inflection point” for China’s games industry and its pay-to-play market, says Transcend Fund principal Lirui Ding.

He was speaking on a panel along with IndieLight VP Tony Shong and DD For Games founder Chelsea Anglin. Ding said that when people think about China, they see a predominantly free-to-play mobile market, rather than triple-A.

“No one ever took China seriously as a triple-A developer,” he said.

Global visibility

Following on from Black Myth: Wukong’s global success - though he estimates 70% to 80% of its sales were in China - things have changed in the country’s games market.

More overseas studios, publishers and investors have realised the “huge momentum” happening in China’s games development scene. What’s more, unlike other expensive triple-A gaming hubs around the world, development costs in China are lower for these big titles right now - though Shanghai costs are said to be on the rise.

Ding added he has noticed more people attending from overseas to events like Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai. He called it a positive sign that people are actively looking at the Chinese market from a game development perspective.

“Investors who left video games are now coming back.”

Secondly, Ding said the enormous sales for Black Myth: Wukong has made companies realise that there is a “huge supply market” in China. Studios are now thinking how they can publish in the country and what’s the best way to do it, he added.

Shong echoed these sentiments, stating that he had noticed more international visitors coming to ChinaJoy since Black Myth: Wukong’s release.