Recommended Free Tools
Black Myth: Wukong launched alongside signs of increased interest in the classic novel Journey to the West, but the available figures do not establish a huge worldwide sales spike. A small eBay comparison covers four markets, while a separate report says sales on China’s Dangdang platform rose sharply for 48 hours. Those measures have different scopes and should not be combined.
Why the game could send readers to the novel
Black Myth: Wukong draws on Journey to the West, the classic Chinese novel. The connection gives players a natural reason to look up the source material and the characters behind the game. Guinness World Records describes the game as based on the novel. At a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also linked the title to the classic, saying: “I do not know much about video games, but thank you for drawing my attention to this game. The name of this game suggests that it is inspired by the Chinese classic novel ‘Journey to the West.’ I think this speaks to the appeal of the Chinese culture.” Shenzhen Government Online published the comment, sourced to Shenzhen Daily.
What the reported sales figures show
| Measure | Reported result | Scope and source |
|---|---|---|
| eBay sales | 93 before launch and about 122 after | Four regional marketplaces; three months before release compared with the first 22 days after. TheGamer analysis, as reported by Gamebrott. |
| Dangdang sales | Fivefold increase within 48 hours; the book reached No. 8 on the fiction bestseller list | China’s Dangdang platform. A 2025 academic article relays a November 15, 2024 China Publishing & Media Journal report. |
The eBay comparison is small and uneven
Gamebrott’s September 12, 2024 article attributes the analysis to TheGamer. Across eBay UK, US, Canada and Australia, the reported counts were 93 in the three months before the game’s release and about 122 during the first 22 days afterward. The country figures were UK 20 to 28, US 65 to 85, Canada 0 to 2, and Australia 8 to 7. Gamebrott’s report presents these figures as a limited marketplace comparison, not a complete count of novel sales.
The periods are not equivalent: three months before launch is being compared with just 22 days afterward. The totals are raw counts, not comparable sales rates, and the sample covers only four eBay marketplaces. It therefore cannot establish a huge increase worldwide. The country breakdown is mixed, too: the reported count fell slightly in Australia even as it rose in the other three markets.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
#1 Best Overall
- Journey to the West
- 4 volumes
- First Edition
- English
- Paperback
The Dangdang claim is larger but narrowly scoped
A 2025 academic article reports that Journey to the West sales on Dangdang quintupled within 48 hours of the game’s launch and that the novel reached No. 8 on the platform’s fiction bestseller list. The article cites a November 15, 2024 item from China Publishing & Media Journal. This is a substantial reported short-term change on one Chinese platform, but the underlying trade-journal item was not independently accessed; it is not a measure of all Chinese book sales or worldwide sales. The academic article is the available source for the claim and its citation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Did the game cause the increase?
The timing is consistent with the game helping renew interest in the novel, but these figures alone cannot prove that the launch caused every additional purchase. The two reports measure different things: a small set of eBay counts across four countries over unequal periods, and a short-lived fivefold increase reported for Dangdang. They are neither equivalent nor additive, and neither establishes a continuing sales trend.
The game’s own sales demonstrate its reach, not the number of books people bought. Game Science announced more than 10 million game copies sold across platforms by 21:00 Beijing time on August 23, 2024; Guinness World Records later recorded 20 million copies in the first month. GamerSky reproduced Game Science’s announcement, and Guinness World Records documented the first-month figure. These are game-unit figures, not novel-sales data.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
Rank #3
What readers can conclude
- There are reports of increased interest in Journey to the West around the game’s launch.
- The eBay comparison is modest in scale and too uneven in duration to show a like-for-like rate increase.
- The Dangdang report describes a much larger short-term change, but only on one platform and through a cited secondary source.
- Neither measure demonstrates a huge worldwide spike or a lasting change in book sales.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →
