Black Myth: Wukong Costs 10% of Concord Yet Dominates Global Sales

The budget for Black Myth: Wukong was revealed to be significantly lower than many major Western game projects.

According to Game Science, the developer of the game, they shared during the Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) in Hangzhou, which took place from September 25 to 29, that the total development cost of Black Myth: Wukong surpassed 300 million yuan (around $42.3 million).

This announcement was later confirmed by China’s State Taxation Administration on October 8.

At the expo, Game Science expressed gratitude to the Hangzhou Taxation Bureau for their assistance, particularly in providing tax benefits. For instance, Black Myth: Wukong was granted an additional tax deduction of 28 million yuan (about $3.96 million) for the year 2023. Although the company is based in Shenzhen, they moved their development team to Hangzhou in 2018 to gain these benefits.

It remains unclear whether the $42.3 million includes marketing expenses, so the overall budget for Black Myth: Wukong could be higher. Last month, Daniel Wu, co-founder of Hero Games (one of Game Science’s major investors), mentioned that the game cost around $70 million to develop over six years. This suggests that $30 million of the budget was likely spent on marketing, but even so, the total remains modest compared to many other AAA games.

Despite the lower budget, Black Myth: Wukong achieved remarkable success. It sold 10 million copies worldwide in just three days and exceeded 18 million sales in two weeks.

VG Insights estimates the game’s revenue on Steam alone to be over $1 billion, with more than 22 million copies sold.

In comparison, Black Myth: Wukong’s budget is just 10% of the estimated $400 million cost of Sony’s latest title, Concord.

Other game budgets are:

• Grand Theft Auto 6 – estimated to be over $2 Billion
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (via the Insomniac hack) — $315 million
• Genshin Impact — $100 million
• Cyberpunk 2077 — $316 million
• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty — 84.5 million
• The Last of Us Part II (via the FTC v. Microsoft court documents) — $220 million
• Alan Wake 2 — €70 million

This massive difference highlights the rising costs of game development in the US compared to countries like China, where development is often more affordable due to lower salaries and production costs.

Nevertheless, “Black Myth: Wukong” shows that you don’t always need a massive budget to make a great, successful game. It’s a reminder that creativity, smart planning, and efficient development can sometimes beat big spending.