On August 20, the gaming sector surged, propelling CITIC Press and Qitian Technology to 20% gains, Huayi Brothers up 19.03%, Zhejiang Publishing Media and CITS United to 10% gains, and related stocks such as Xunyou Technology, Shunwang Technology, Kaisa Culture, Xinyuan Technology, and Lendi Information also rallied.

In terms of news, the highly anticipated domestic game "Black Myth: Wukong" officially launched to players, topping Steam's Most Played Games within an hour of its release, with over 1 million players.

According to the Game Science official website, the game is currently available in four versions: a digital standard edition priced at 268 yuan, a digital deluxe edition for 328 yuan, a physical deluxe edition for 820 yuan, and a physical collector's edition for 1998 yuan. Pre-orders are available, but physical editions are sold out.

Pre-sales soar, reaching 390 million yuan in sales

Public information shows that "Black Myth: Wukong" was initiated in February 2018 and has finally been delivered to global players after over six and a half years of development.

The game is an action role-playing game produced by Chinese game development company Game Science, set against the backdrop of the classic Chinese literary work "Journey to the West" and boldly adapts the original storyline through modern creative methods.

Players take on the role of Sun Wukong, experiencing a series of adventures and battles, undergoing his growth process while defeating various demons and enemies. The game not only covers classic scenes from "Journey to the West" but also incorporates rich original content, making the entire story richer and more engaging.

In fact, the game had a previous pre-sale, which generated sales of 390 million yuan from 1.2 million copies within a month, significantly breaking domestic game pre-sale records. The "China Game Industry Report for January-June 2024" released in July showed that the domestic console game market generated actual sales revenue of 797 million yuan in the first half of the year.

Essentially, one game accounted for half of the market.

On August 19, after "Black Myth: Wukong" opened pre-downloads, Steam's download bandwidth peaked at 70Tbps, breaking Steam records. Industry insiders say this is equivalent to over 70,000 people simultaneously downloading at full speed using 1Gbps downstream bandwidth. Previously, the peak Steam download bandwidth record was set by "Cyberpunk 2077" in late 2020 at 50Tbps.

Moreover, "Black Myth: Wukong" quickly collaborated across industries. On August 19, a joint meal plan with Luckin Coffee went viral on social media. Additionally, several brands, including Lenovo Legion laptops, TiPro SSDs, and Didi Qingju, have launched joint products, covering transportation, retail, and 3C electronics.

According to Steam data, "Black Myth: Wukong" consistently tops the global best-sellers list, not just in China.

A-shares rally with multiple stocks reaching their daily limits

The success of "Black Myth: Wukong" boosted the gaming sector, adding a touch of red to the green A-share market.

On August 20, Huayi Brothers surged early in the morning. According to reports, Huayi Brothers holds a 5.17% stake in Yingxiong Interactive, an early investor in Game Science, the developer of "Black Myth: Wukong." In 2021, Game Science received equity investment from Tencent. After the transaction, Tencent held a 5% stake, producer Feng Ji held 38.76%, and Yingxiong Interactive held 19%.

Based on this, Huayi Brothers indirectly holds approximately 1% of Game Science's shares.

It is rumored that CITIC Press, which reached its daily limit, will participate in publishing the "Black Myth: Wukong" artbook. CITIC Press's investor relations department acknowledged this.

"There is no product yet, and no official information disclosure." Regarding the publication date, the representative said they are still formulating plans. Regarding the cooperation model, revenue sharing ratio, etc., the representative stated that no physical product exists yet, and specific details are not yet available, waiting for specific rules after the launch.

As the publisher of "Black Myth: Wukong," Zhejiang Publishing Group Digital Media Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Zhejiang Publishing Media, has also seen a significant share price increase recently.

The investor relations department of Zhejiang Publishing Media told the media that they are only responsible for content review as the publisher. They added that game profits should mainly accrue to developers and operators, and they are not entirely clear about the specific revenue sharing arrangements.

Regarding this, a Ping An Securities researcher stated that the game industry combines consumer and technology attributes, enriching people's spiritual lives. High-quality games can create substantial new demand. The emergence of "Black Myth: Wukong" signifies that Chinese developers possess globally recognized 3A game development capabilities, further advancing the industrialization of games. This may usher in a new era of high-quality game development. From an investment perspective, the emergence of hit content is likely to boost industry sentiment. Listed companies with high-quality game products in their pipeline may continue to attract market attention. However, given the current weak market conditions, investors should carefully scrutinize fundamentals and avoid blindly chasing price increases.