“I went at six in the morning, afraid they would run out.”
Shi Yi, a junior from Anyang, shared with 36Kr how he arrived at his first Luckin Coffee store by 7 a.m. only to find the shop already swarming with customers. Upon learning that the limited-edition collaboration cards were sold out, he dashed to another Luckin outlet on Wanda Golden Street. But there, too, the crowd was thick, and by 8 a.m.—half an hour before opening—the store was packed, nearly all by men. “There were 15 people inside, and only one was a woman,” Shi said.
Shi’s early start paid off. But most people weren’t as fortunate. “Each store had only around 20 of these cards, and the one I went to only had 15,” he explained. The allocation was based on each store’s usual sales, and at one point, the ordering system even crashed, leading to a long wait before he could place his order.
Gamers’ frenzy over Luckin’s collaboration with Black Myth: Wukong nearly crashed the company’s system. “The merchandise sold out nationwide in seconds, almost crashing our system,” Yang Fei, chief growth officer of Luckin, said on social media, noting how male purchasing power had surpassed the team’s expectations. By noon, Luckin officially announced a restock plan, stating that the limited-edition 3D posters had sold out immediately, with demand far exceeding expectations.
By the morning of August 19, secondhand trading platform Xianyu was already flooded with listings for the 3D collaboration posters. Prices on the secondary market soared from an initial RMB 30 (USD 4.2) to around RMB 50 (USD 7) by the end of the day.
This highly coveted card, pursued by gaming fans, is part of Luckin’s collaboration with Black Myth: Wukong and features a physical poster with a 3D effect. A subtle detail on the poster shows Wukong holding a gourd inscribed with the word “Luckin.” In the Black Myth: Wukong QQ group, those who managed to snag one proudly displayed it on their PS5 consoles.
For days, intense discussions about Black Myth: Wukong have dominated various WeChat groups, with players and casual fans alike generating and sharing countless memes. Meanwhile, social media posts have split into two camps: those who managed to play the game and those who got their hands on Luckin’s “Tengyun Americano.”
Luckin’s brand tapped into nostalgia, while male purchasing power was underestimated.
Luckin’s partnership with Black Myth: Wukong had been in the works for months.
Before the collaboration products officially went on sale, Yang told 36Kr: “Regardless of how it performs, we’re supporting domestic products.”
“Three key themes—Journey to the West, Shanxi ancient architecture, and AAA gaming—were enough,” Yang elaborated about the collaboration’s concept.
Black Myth: Wukong, developed by Game Science, isn’t the first game studio to explore the Journey to the West IP. Many others have used this treasure trove of a story across various online and mobile games. However, Black Myth: Wukong stands out as the first domestic AAA title and a milestone for Chinese gaming. “Emotion outweighs commercial calculation,” Yang said, noting that even the name of the collaboration coffee, Tengyun Americano, draws from Wukong’s nimbostratus cloud.
The success of Black Myth: Wukong is a testament to the deep connection gamers have with the story. Xu Wei, a gaming enthusiast born in the 1990s, shared his thoughts on social media the morning the game was released: “In college, games and anime were my life… Until the first year of work, this dream nearly became reality… Thank you for carrying the torch of my dreams.”
Black Myth: Wukong is a typically male-centric game IP. 36Kr joined two Black Myth: Wukong QQ groups, each with over 1,500 members, and found that over 80% of the users were male, with nearly half of them being born after 2000. This group propelled Luckin to the top of the trending charts, with an effectiveness surpassing ten Father’s Days, according to Yang.
The game’s release has seen an extraordinary response, with players scrambling to get their hands on it. According to data from SteamDB, within the first hour of its release, the game’s concurrent players had already exceeded 1.2 million, and the number keeps climbing. This makes it the highest peak player count for a single-player game in the platform’s history.
Before its release, Black Myth: Wukong had already shattered numerous records for Chinese games, topping the national game presale chart. According to national game sale statistics, Black Myth: Wukong reached 1.2 million copies sold, generating RMB 390 million (USD 54.8 million) in sales, making it the top-selling Chinese game in the first half of 2024. And it only started presales on June 8. This achievement broke the previous domestic game presale record of 100,000 copies, and Black Myth: Wukong’s presales have accounted for nearly 70% of the revenue of the top 15 games.
However, Luckin is just one of the brands capitalizing on this nostalgic appeal. Many others have jumped on the bandwagon.
Previously, Nvidia announced that it would release a dedicated driver for Black Myth: Wukong this week. Baidu Maps, Flydigi, and GCORES Industries have all launched collaborative products, including themed voice packs, game controllers, and apparel. Didi Bike and Zhitai have also become official partners, with other brands leveraging the hype to launch various promotions, offering free game merchandise with purchases.
The financial impact of Black Myth: Wukong extends beyond the gaming world. The stock price of Huayi Brothers, which holds shares in Game Science’s investor Hero Games, has surged significantly, rising over 70% in the past five trading days as of noon on August 20. Another Black Myth: Wukong-related stock, Qitian Technology, also hit the 20% daily price limit the same day.
The explosive success of Black Myth: Wukong has clearly transcended the gaming community.
Could Black Myth: Wukong be Luckin’s key to going global?
For Luckin, this collaboration’s wild success is reminiscent of last year’s viral sauce-flavored latte it launched in partnership with Moutai, which raked in over RMB 100 million (USD 14 million) on its first day. The Black Myth: Wukong collaboration marks Luckin’s second partnership with the Journey to the West IP, following the launch of themed lattes in May.
Judging by the product reviews, the Black Myth: Wukong collaboration shares some similarities with the sauce-flavored latte in that opinions on the Tengyun Americano are divided. While some consumers gave positive feedback, others criticized the flavor as being too bitter or sour for their taste.
Setting aside the subjective taste preferences, it’s clear that the collaboration with Black Myth: Wukong has been effective in attracting new customers. Shi told 36Kr that he usually doesn’t drink coffee, only occasionally, and his motivation to wake up at 6 a.m. was purely to get his hands on the limited-edition card.
A similar obsession has gripped a large number of overseas players as well. Since Game Science released the first video about the game four years ago, fans worldwide have eagerly awaited updates. Reaction videos from global gaming YouTubers have been abundant on platforms like YouTube and Bilibili, with the Destiny 2 streamer Aztecross declaring it a potential game of the year after watching the final trailer.
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According to statistics from the Diershoubing app, as of 11:28 p.m. on August 19, Black Myth: Wukong had already become the top-selling single-player game globally, excluding free games, in all major regions except Spain and Poland.
However, the biggest impact Black Myth: Wukong has had on foreign players is cultural.
Unlike Chinese players, who are familiar with the characters from Journey to the West thanks to television shows, cartoons, and the original novel, foreign players find the world of Black Myth: Wukong both strange and fascinating. Before the game’s release, discussions on the gaming subreddit were filled with players diving into the original Journey to the West novel, the 1986 TV adaptation, and even asking questions like, “What is a gourd?” Some Chinese culture enthusiasts have taken it upon themselves to explain the background and nuances to others on various forums.
Clearly, Black Myth: Wukong is not just a successful Chinese game but a triumph for Chinese culture on the global stage. Based on the trajectory of past AAA games, Black Myth: Wukong’s international influence will likely continue to grow beyond the game itself.
“The value chain of AAA games isn’t in the game itself but in the peripherals,” a securities analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, told 36Kr. “Compared to many industries, the revenue from the actual game sales is a small portion of the total gross merchandise value (GMV), sometimes as low as 10%.”
Whether it’s Super Mario, League of Legends, or World of Warcraft, leading games have significant IP extension value, and AAA titles, in particular, may see even more pronounced effects. “Take the Final Fantasy series, for instance. Initially, players mocked the four over-the-top characters, but after the game went global in 2015, the sales of related products skyrocketed, surpassing even Square Enix’s Dragon Quest IP in GMV,” the analyst added.
The hardcore and somewhat dark themes of Black Myth: Wukong might also make it easier to resonate with Western audiences. “Compared to past hits like Sword of Legends and The Legend of Sword and Fairy, Black Myth: Wukong should have an easier time gaining traction overseas,” he noted.
This cultural influence abroad is something Luckin desperately needs. Despite having over 20,000 stores, Luckin has been cautious and slow in its international expansion, with the brand’s popularity still largely confined to China.
However, Luckin is accelerating its global expansion plans. According to LatePost, the company plans to embark on a major overseas expansion in the fourth quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025, focusing on Southeast Asia and the US. Before this, the collaboration with Black Myth: Wukong could serve as a crucial stepping stone for its international ambitions.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Yang Yafei for 36Kr.