Palworld dev is happy to see Black Myth: Wukong overtake the survival game's Steam record: "We won't see another game reach these heights until probably GTA 6"

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Palworld community manager Bucky hopes to see Wukong hit more than 4 million concurrent players

Black Myth Wukong
(Image credit: Game Science)

Black Myth: Wukong is currently dominating the Steam charts, and Palworld community manager Bucky couldn't be happier about it.

From China-based developer Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong is already the second-biggest Steam game ever by concurrent player count, and it hasn't even been 24 hours since it launched. Looking at SteamDB, the all-time peak number of players in-game at one time is currently at 2.2 million - more than 100 thousand more than Palworld's all-time peak of 2.101 million.

Bucky, however, isn't afraid of a little friendly competition, and even said in a tweet "I'd vote for Wukong" in a head-to-head Steam matchup because "I think this is the sort of positive change needed in the Chinese gaming world. Wukong is proof a well-made singleplayer game can be big, and not some mobile hybrid with 5,000 variations of microtransactions."

Analysts have suggested that much of Wukong's staggering success is coming from China, and some developers think its popularity could be the impetus for a big shift in the Chinese gaming industry. However, even if you completely removed China from the equation, the 10-15% of players remaining would still be enough to make Wukong a success, and the game is a top seller across a bunch of different regions on Steam.

Bucky, meanwhile, hopes this is just the start for Wukong. "I hope Wukong breaks 4mil," Bucky said. "We won't see another game reach these heights until probably GTA 6."

Well, it's hard to say what surprises are in store for us between now and GTA 6's release in 2025, and Palworld itself was something of a surprise success when it launched earlier in the year. There are a lot of big names on the calendar of video game release dates, but with Wukong being as unexpectedly massive as it's become, there's no telling which, if any, of them will rival Game Science's action-RPG smash hit.

Here are some clutch Black Myth: Wukong tips if you're thinking of jumping in.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.