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China's video gaming market grew by more than 15 per cent year on year in August, driven by the popularity of the country's first AAA video game, Black Myth: Wukong , new research has found.

The market generated 33.64 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) in revenue for August, up 21 per cent from the previous month, thanks in large part to Black Myth: Wukong , which was released on August 20, according to a report published by the Gaming Publishing Committee of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association on Friday.

The action-role playing title, inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West and developed by Hangzhou-based studio Game Science, has received critical acclaim and enthusiastic reception among gamers in mainland China and globally.

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A boy plays Black Myth: Wukong in the Sony store in Shanghai, August 26, 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=A boy plays Black Myth: Wukong in the Sony store in Shanghai, August 26, 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE>

To date it has sold more than 20 million copies globally through game distribution platform Steam, bringing in gross revenue of over US$961 million, according to data compiled by game market researcher Video Game Insights.

The title's popularity on the global market also contributed to a 25 per cent year-on-year growth in overseas revenue for China-developed games in August, which rose to US$1.88 billion from a US$1.5 billion a year earlier.

However, domestic sales of mobile games in August recorded a slight decline, dropping 1.55 per cent year on year to 22.5 billion yuan, in a sign of how the Chinese gaming market, the world's second largest by revenue after the US, is still reeling from a slowing economy and the aftershocks of a recently concluded industry crackdown.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), China's regulator for the sector, approved 117 video games in August, the most so far this year amid excitement over the success of Black Myth: Wukong.

The NPPA approved licences for a total of 850 domestic titles in the first eight months of this year, compared with 609 in the same period in 2023.

Industry consultancy Newzoo expects China's video game market revenue to reach US$45 billion this year, compared to an estimated US$47 billion for the US market. The two countries will account for half of global consumer spending on games this year.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) , the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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