Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong, released in 2024, has become more than just China’s first major blockbuster game, it’s now driving real-world economic growth through tourism.

The game’s success has particularly benefited China’s Shanxi province, where many of the game’s locations are based. This surge in visitors has been called “player to tourist conversion” within China, as gamers who explored these virtual spaces are now traveling to see them in person.

At the recent China Game Industry Annual Conference, Qingping Gao, CEO of a Shanxi tourism organization, and Xuejun Xuan, curator of the Black Myth: Wukong art exhibition, shared concrete numbers showing the game’s impact on tourism and culture.

Black Myth: Wukong features 36 real-world locations in its game world. Of these, 27 are based on cultural heritage sites and historical locations in Shanxi province. Just two months after the game launched, ticket sales at these historical sites brought in over 160 million yuan (roughly $22.7 million USD). The boost wasn’t limited to ticket sales either—hotels, restaurants, transportation services, and retail businesses in the region also saw increased revenue.

Online searches for “Shanxi tourism” jumped by more than 3,178% compared to the previous year. Social media pages about the topic received over 40 billion views. Gao credits part of this success to local governments and tourism groups, who quickly recognized the game’s popularity and created new tourism plans around it.

The game’s cultural reach showed up in other ways too. An art exhibition dedicated to Black Myth: Wukong at the Art Museum of China Academy of Art in Hangzhou was originally planned to run for about 40 days. Due to high demand, it stayed open for 108 days instead. Daily visitor numbers were capped at 4,000 to 6,000 people, yet the exhibition still drew 450,000 attendees over its three-and-a-half-month run.

Black Myth: Wukong’s success has also influenced the wider Chinese game industry. Following its launch, other domestic titles like Phantom Blade Zero received additional funding, suggesting the game has helped open doors for more Chinese-developed projects.