Black Myth: Wukong isn't even out, but its new feedback tool just amassed more than 60,000 players on Steam

Black Myth: Wukong released a benchmarking tool on Steam, attracting thousands of players despite being non-playable, highlighting the game's high anticipation ahead of its release next week.

Black Myth Wukong just dropped a benchmarking tool ahead of its release next week, and it's drawing in players in their thousands.

Last night, developer Game Science announced that a 'Black Myth: Wukong Benchmark Tool' was available to download on Steam. The free tool is intended to allow players to "preliminarily check your PC's hardware performance and system compatibility when running the game."

The benchmark can be customized, and the data it gathers might be used to help the devs identify issues ahead of launch, which should be good news for the final release. Crucially, however, the benchmark tool is "separate from the game itself and non-playable." Most benchmark tools are flythroughs of the world, perhaps showing off some particular demanding effects or animations but certainly not giving the player much, if any, control. It seems as though the Black Myth: Wukong version is no different, but that's not stopping players from getting involved.

Game Science announced the tool shortly after 03:00 BST (22:00 ET/19:00 PT), and SteamDB says that within an hour, more than 63,000 people were using it. Even now, that figure is hovering around 45,000, enough to make this benchmark tool the 18th-biggest game on Steam, with 4,000 more concurrents than Baldur's Gate 3.

That's not the world's biggest surprise - Black Myth: Wukong is the most-wishlisted game on Steam, and it's held that chart-topping position for several months. Clearly, it's a hugely anticipated game - but even then, I wouldn't have expected players to pour into a benchmark tool in these kinds of numbers.

If you really want a sense of how it plays, check out our Black Myth: Wukong preview.