🎮 I am writing this in 2026, which means I can look back at Black Myth: Wukong's launch with a little more clarity than I had in August 2024. Back then, the conversation around Game Science's action RPG was not only about its stunning visuals or its take on Journey to the West. It was also about a benchmark tool, a piece of anti-piracy software, and the uneasy feeling that PC players might be walking into a performance trap. I remember downloading the PC benchmark and wondering: if the test itself used Denuvo, could it ever tell me the whole truth about how the final game would run?
The benchmark tool was meant to be a helpful preview. It let players tweak settings, check frame rates, and see whether their rigs could handle the game's demanding Unreal Engine 5 visuals. But the discovery that the benchmark also carried Denuvo turned that helpful preview into a debate. If the benchmark had the same DRM as the retail version, some argued, then it was at least honest. Others countered that a benchmark without Denuvo would have performed better than the actual game, making the test useless. I found myself in both camps depending on the day. Isn't that the problem with pre-release performance tools? They can only ever be a snapshot, not a promise.
🐒 The Denuvo concern was not new in 2024, and it is still not fully settled in 2026. Denuvo's parent company, Irdeto, has long insisted that the technology has 'no perceptible effect on game performance' and that anti-tamper measures are not to blame for crashes in genuine executables. Yet PC players remain skeptical, because performance is not just about average frame rates. It is about frame pacing, stutter, CPU overhead, and the feeling that a game is fighting your hardware. Tests on games like Devil May Cry 5 and Resident Evil Village showed only marginal impacts, but those results did not stop the wider anxiety. For Black Myth: Wukong, there was no concrete answer before launch.
| Concern | What players said | What we knew |
|---|---|---|
| Denuvo in benchmark | The test might be slower than a DRM-free build | The benchmark did use Denuvo |
| Denuvo in full game | The RPG could suffer stutters or lower FPS | Denuvo was listed on Steam |
| Irdeto's position | DRM has no perceptible effect | The company denied performance blame |
| Past tests | DMC5 and RE Village showed marginal impact | Results varied by game |
⚔️ When Black Myth: Wukong arrived on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on August 20, 2024, the conversation shifted from speculation to patches, driver updates, and community benchmarks. In 2026, I can say that the game became a landmark release for Chinese AAA development, but the Denuvo debate did not disappear. It simply moved to the next big launch. That is how it always goes, right? Every few months, a new PC game ships with Denuvo, players run their own tests, and the same arguments return. Sometimes the impact is small. Sometimes it is noticeable. The only honest answer is that it depends on the game, the CPU, the settings, and the patch.
📊 For me, the Black Myth: Wukong benchmark episode is a reminder that PC performance is emotional as well as technical. I do not just want high numbers. I want consistency. I want to trust that the tool I use to judge a game is measuring the same thing I will play. The benchmark gave me beautiful vistas and a taste of combat, but it also gave me questions. Would the final build stutter in crowded areas? Would Denuvo add overhead during intense fights? Would a future patch remove it? Those questions mattered because the game looked so good that I wanted it to run just as well as it looked.
In 2026, I still think the benchmark was useful. It was not a perfect crystal ball, but it gave players a way to prepare. It also forced a public conversation about DRM, transparency, and the gap between a test and a release. If you are playing Black Myth: Wukong today, you are likely benefiting from years of optimization and hardware improvements. But I have not forgotten the lesson: when a benchmark includes Denuvo, the real question is not whether it is fair. The real question is whether the final game will feel fair on your machine. And that is a question only your own PC can answer.