Game Science's Mythic Action RPG Black Myth: Zhong Kui Has Even Bigger Challenges

The studio behind the breakthrough smash Black Myth: Wukong, Game Science, has formally revealed Black Myth: Zhong Kui, their upcoming major project. Geoff Keighley announced the game at Gamescom 2025. It's a big step forward for the series, going from focusing on a single main character's story to telling a collection of stories based on Chinese myths.

In contrast to its predecessor, which was about the legendary Monkey King, Zhong Kui is about the ghost-catching god, known in folklore as the one who defeats evil spirits. With a huge sword and an army of 80,000 demons at his disposal, Zhong Kui offers players with a new perspective filled with myth, tradition, and supernatural spectacle.

Reports indicate that the project initially started as DLC for Wukong, but Game Science's growing interest and the huge success of the first game led to it becoming a separate sequel. The studio's choice suggests that they intend to develop Black Myth into a long-running anthology series, with each installment focusing on a distinct mythical character.

Zhong Kui has long been depicted as a large, bearded man wielding a huge sword in his right hand. In Chinese folklore, he is associated with the Five Bats of Fortune, which are believed to bring long life and happiness. Game Science may incorporate these features directly into the game's gameplay. In the video reveal, his loyal demons were shown carrying his gear, along with a tiger, which hinted at a significant change in tone and style from Wukong.

Zhong Kui is likely to stay true to the series' third-person action RPG roots, which are often compared to a mix of God of War and Dark Souls. However, since the first game had a more linear structure, the second one might attempt to make the combat system more complex, the levels more open-ended, and the movement options more varied. 

Fans are already saying that the possible jump looks a lot like how Star Wars Jedi: Survivor built on Fallen Order, making it more challenging while retaining the basics. It has become a habit for Game Science to announce new projects on August 20. The studio stated that Zhong Kui will probably do the same for future updates.

Many people believe it will be released in 2027 or 2028, based on current progress. Even though that means we have to wait a long time, the fact that the game was finished so quickly (it originally started as DLC) shows that the team has a solid foundation to build on.

The company stated that the game will be available on PC and all major consoles upon release. This carefully chosen language has led to guesswork. Some see it as a way to avoid making too many promises about ports, especially since Wukong's Xbox release was pushed back. Others say it rules out the Nintendo Switch 2 due to technological issues. In any case, it shows that Game Science is leaving its options open so that launch problems don't happen again.

Black Myth: Zhong Kui is more than just a follow-up; it's Game Science's sign that they want to turn Black Myth into a cultural anthology, with each part focusing on a different hero from Chinese mythology. 

If the company can add more depth to the gameplay while still staying true to the series' roots, it could make it one of the most exciting new gaming franchises of all time. Even though fans might have to wait until late 2027 or later to read Zhong Kui's story, the promise of bigger worlds, deeper systems, and more myths will make them even more excited.