Black Myth: Wukong Shatters Records on Steam, Surpasses Cyberpunk 2077 as Most-Played Single-Player Game

Black Myth: Wukong has stormed its way to the top of Steam’s best-selling games list and has become the most-played single-player game in the platform’s history. The previous record, held by Cyberpunk 2077, which peaked at 1,054,388 players in 2020, was shattered by Black Myth: Wukong within hours of its release.

First announced back in 2020, Black Myth: Wukong was finally released on August 20 for PlayStation 5 and PC. While the game will eventually arrive on Xbox consoles, developer Game Science delivered disappointing news to fans just two months before launch, announcing that the Xbox Series X/S version would be delayed. Currently, there’s no set release date for Black Myth: Wukong on Xbox, with the studio citing that the game didn’t meet their standards on Microsoft’s current-gen consoles.

With mostly positive reviews, it’s no surprise that Black Myth: Wukong is already breaking records on Steam. In less than 24 hours after its launch, the game soared to the top of Steam’s most-played games, reaching a peak of 1,443,570 concurrent players, according to SteamDB. This achievement places Black Myth: Wukong as the number one game in terms of current players, surpassing even Valve’s popular titles like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.

Black Myth: Wukong Overtakes Cyberpunk 2077’s Record on Steam

While games like Palworld have seen larger player count spikes, Black Myth: Wukong’s record is particularly impressive given that it’s a single-player, story-driven game, not an online multiplayer title. It may not dethrone PUBG: Battlegrounds anytime soon, but Black Myth: Wukong has now set a new all-time peak for a single-player game, surpassing Cyberpunk 2077’s record by an additional 389,182 concurrent players.

Although there’s no way to know the exact player count on PlayStation 5, if it mirrors the numbers on Steam, Game Science has a massive hit on its hands. However, the game hasn’t been entirely free of controversy, with fans expressing confusion over some of Black Myth: Wukong’s streaming restrictions. Despite these criticisms, the game is on track to become one of 2024’s biggest hits.