Black Myth: Wukong Reveals GPU Demands
The newly launched game "Black Myth: Wukong" has quickly gained popularity among gamers, leading to unexpected challenges for some. Within just two days of its release, players have reported that their computers are struggling to handle the game's demanding requirements. In extreme cases, videos have emerged online showing gaming PCs overheating or even suffering damage while running "Wukong." This has prompted many gamers to upgrade or build new systems capable of supporting the game's high-performance needs. The question now arises: could this trend drive a surge in sales for gaming laptops and high-end GPUs?
"Black Myth: Wukong" is an action role-playing game set in a world inspired by Chinese mythology. The game draws its narrative from "Journey to the West," one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Players assume the role of a chosen hero who embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth behind ancient legends.
Since its release on August 20, 2024, "Black Myth: Wukong" has made a significant impact in the gaming market. Reports indicate that over 3 million copies have been sold on the Steam platform alone. When including sales from the Epic Games Store, Tencent's WeGame, and Sony's PlayStation platforms, the total number of copies sold has surpassed 4.5 million, generating more than 1.5 billion RMB in revenue and breaking several records for domestically produced games.
According to official data, as of August 23, 2024, "Black Myth: Wukong" has sold over 10 million copies across all platforms. Goldman Sachs forecasts that in an optimistic scenario, the game could reach 20 million copies sold, with total revenues exceeding 5 billion RMB.
"Black Myth: Wukong" is also notable as China's first AAA game, characterized by its high development costs, large scale, and exceptional quality. The game demands substantial hardware capabilities, particularly to support advanced graphics features like full-scene ray tracing (known as path tracing by NVIDIA), full-resolution multi-bounce ray-traced indirect lighting, full-resolution ray-traced reflections, ray-traced particle reflections, caustics, and ray-traced shadows. These features significantly enhance the game's lighting, special effects, and overall immersive experience, making it one of the most technologically advanced games currently available.
The hardware requirements for AAA games, especially concerning GPUs, are significantly higher than those for other applications. As a result, GPU specifications are a critical factor for gamers when selecting gaming laptops or desktops. "Wukong" primarily recommends NVIDIA series GPUs for the best performance.
Performance testing of "Black Myth: Wukong" on various top-tier GPUs from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel reveals that higher game settings require powerful GPUs. The game runs well on lower-end GPUs at 1080p with medium settings and supersampling, achieving over 60 fps on an AMD RX 6650 XT. However, at the "Ultra" settings with cinematic quality, the hardware requirements increase significantly, cutting performance by more than half. For players less concerned with maximizing visual settings, medium to high presets should provide a satisfactory experience.
To achieve ultra settings with full-scene ray tracing, a top-tier NVIDIA GPU is essential. AMD's RX 7900 XTX manages to achieve over 60 fps in ray-tracing tests at medium to low options, although water rendering appears inferior to standard Lumen rendering. At maximum ray-tracing settings, performance drops to just 28 fps, making smooth gameplay challenging. The NVIDIA RTX 4080 Super, however, offers more than double the performance, allowing for playable frame rates at 1440p resolution and acceptable performance at 4K.
System requirements suggest that the game does not need more than a 6-core CPU, with an 8-core CPU being optimal. Higher specifications beyond Intel Core i7-9700 or AMD Ryzen 5 5500 are not necessary.
Player feedback for "Black Myth: Wukong" has been overwhelmingly positive, with many praising its unique and visually compelling bosses and enemies. The game's incorporation of Chinese mythology also adds a distinctive appeal and excitement.
For gamers without top-tier GPUs, it is not essential to aim for the highest graphical settings. Medium to high settings (without full-scene ray tracing) should be achievable on most decent gaming PCs, and the additional visual effects may not necessarily enhance the gaming experience. However, for those equipped with high-end NVIDIA RTX 40 series GPUs, enabling full-scene ray tracing with particle reflections and caustics can provide an impressive experience in many areas of the game.
