Game Science (2014)
The Independent Studio that Propelled China into the Global AAA Single-Player Pantheon
Founded in 2014 in Shenzhen and Hangzhou by former Tencent developer Feng Ji and art director Yang Qi, Game Science is the groundbreaking independent Chinese development studio behind Black Myth: Wukong. Released in August 2024 to international acclaim, the game sold over 20 million copies within its first month, marking the historic arrival of Chinese development in the global single-player AAA arena.
Rejecting Free-to-Play to Reimagine 'Journey to the West'
Having previously led development on the MMORPG Asura at Tencent, Feng Ji and Yang Qi grew dissatisfied with the dominant free-to-play mobile monetization model in China. Founding Game Science, they committed to crafting a premium single-player adaptation of the classical 16th-century novel 'Journey to the West'. The team traversed China capturing thousands of historical Buddhist temples and stone sculptures via high-resolution photogrammetry.
Black Myth: Wukong's Record-Shattering Launch
After a 2020 pre-alpha gameplay trailer ignited intense global anticipation, Black Myth: Wukong launched in August 2024 on PlayStation 5 and PC via Unreal Engine 5. The game peaked at 2.41 million concurrent players on Steam—the highest concurrent player count for any single-player title in Steam history. Selling over 18 million copies in its first two weeks, it established Game Science as a premier global AAA studio.