Steam: Companies give away Black Myth: Wukong to employees, give them time off to play it

The new action-adventure Black Myth: Wukong is big on Steam, but it’s huge in China. Reports are increasing that companies are giving away the new action-adventure to their employees and allowing them to play it.

These are the reports from China: The site The Strait Times summarizes 3 news reports from Chinese-speaking local news reports:

• The company “Sichuan Muziyang Technology” has given all employees a day off to play Black Myth: Wukong. They want to show support for the Chinese gaming industry and give employees the opportunity to share the gaming experience with friends and colleagues.
• The gaming publisher Gamera Games from Shanghai has gifted every employee a digital copy of Black Myth: Wukong.
• The strategy platform Game Teahouse has granted each employee a half-day off and reimbursed them for the money spent on a copy of the game.

China is proud that the game is received so well as their national epic

What’s going on in China? Apparently, people in China are extremely proud of Black Myth: Wukong, which is considered the first true AAA game developed in China and is celebrating an overwhelming success on Steam – especially among Chinese players.

The game uses themes from the Chinese national epic “Journey to the West,” which they are particularly proud of.

In China, novels such as “Journey to the West” or “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” hold a culturally unifying effect similar to that of the Bible or the myths of Homer in the Western cultural sphere. In Germany, one might see the tales of the Brothers Grimm or perhaps the Nibelungen as similarly culturally formative narratives.

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According to “The Strait Times,” the success seems to also be a bit uncanny for the creators of Black Myth: Wukong. They quote the producer:

“Play slowly, don’t rush to finish the game.”

Has this ever happened before? It is rare for something like this to happen. In 2017, we reported on a case where the South Korean MMO giant NCSoft gifted all of its employees a Nintendo Switch and the game Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The CEO said he enjoyed the game so much that he wanted to share it with everyone. However, there was no day off back then: MMO giant gifts 3000 employees a Nintendo Switch and Zelda