Black Myth: Wukong Becomes Steam's Second-most-played Game on Steam

Four years ago (from the time of writing), we got to see the very first 13 minutes of gameplay in Black Myth: Wukong. Fans were highly enthusiastic about an unreleased title that didn't even have a Steam page (that wouldn't come until 2023). Now, four years after then, and many teases, trailers, and more, and Game Science has created a behemoth that'll go down in gaming history.

Nearly closing out 2024, Black Myth: Wukong breaks and surpasses records set by titles released early in the year — from Palworld's egregious success to HELLDIVERS 2's long-lasting player count (and later controversies that would see its numbers continue dwindling to depressing numbers). From Enshrouded to even the ELDEN RING: Shadow of the Erdtree massive expansion — 2024's titles set precedents that, at the time, we thought were anomalies, and it all culminates in Black Myth: Wukong surpassing all of these achievements and more.

Released on the 19th of August, Black Myth: Wukong saw its all-time player peak three days after release, starting with a handsome 2,223,179 players on its first day and raising from there to 2,415,714, securing its spot as the second most-played title on Steam ever (which naturally, excludes PlayStation 5). The first is, of course, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, the title alongside Fortnite that created the industry trend of battle royales.

While PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS' 3,257,238 all-time player peak is yet to be passed — or even challenged, really — Black Myth: Wukong does pass the previous holder of this record, Palworld, which sits at 2,101,867. The players have dwindled since then, with the peak likely not being surpassed from here on. But hey, we're open to surprises — there have been too many this year to discount the possibility at this point.