Archive / Standard
Evidence
first
Every important claim should tell you where it came from and how certain it is.
Our labels
Six ways to say “this is what we know.”
Early-development information changes quickly. These labels prevent an observation, a report and a theory from collapsing into the same sentence.
Confirmed by a first-party announcement or official channel.
Directly visible in official footage, without claiming more than the frame shows.
Published by a secondary source with a clear citation.
Our interpretation of available evidence, clearly marked as interpretation.
A plausible possibility that has not been confirmed.
Information that has not been announced or reliably observed.
Sources
Every source in the archive.
First-party video channel for the Black Myth series.
- 《黑神话：钟馗》 — official game page Official
“PC+主流主机平台，正式信息请以发售前通知为准。”
English translation “PC and mainstream console platforms; official information is subject to the pre-release announcement.”
Chinese-language page, rendered client-side. Its 常见问题 (FAQ) tab is the first-party record for the platform line — “PC and mainstream console platforms, official information subject to the pre-release announcement”. No specific console, storefront or date appears anywhere on it.
- 《黑神话：钟馗》官方常见问题 — 发售时间 Official
“尽量快！但考虑到综合品质必须先打动内部见多识广的同事们，那就一定快不起来，嘻嘻。”
English translation “As fast as we can! But since the overall quality has to impress our well-travelled colleagues first, it definitely will not be fast.”
The FAQ tab of the official page, answering when the game ships: “As fast as we can! But since the overall quality has to impress our own well-travelled colleagues first, it definitely will not be fast.” Same URL as gs-site because the page is a single-page app; kept separate because it is a distinct answer with a distinct quote.
“As the game is still in early development, all footage was captured in-game from a work-in-progress build running at a 21:9 aspect ratio. The final release may differ.”
The 15-minute reveal this archive breaks down. Embedded, not re-hosted. The quote is from the video’s own description — it is the first-party origin of the “early development” and “work-in-progress build” lines that Gematsu and VGC both carry. The description also calls the player character only “the protagonist”.
Announcement teaser. The gamescom stage version was distributed through event partners.
Channel confirmed as @BlackMythGame via the YouTube oEmbed endpoint. Non-canon holiday short.
“all footage was captured in-game from a work-in-progress build running at a 21:9 aspect ratio”
Quotes a Game Science statement posted on X. Also reports PC and “major consoles”, no date.
“As the game is still in early development, all footage was captured in-game from a work-in-progress build”
Dated 19 Aug 2026 US Eastern time; the video went out 20 Aug 2026 China time.
Hands-off impressions of the same reveal. Used only for descriptions of on-screen content.
“non-canon and for entertainment purposes only”
Six minutes of in-engine footage made for the Year of the Horse. Not a story preview.
Reveal took place at gamescom Opening Night Live, Cologne, 19 August 2025 CEST.
“is in development for PC and consoles, and does not yet have a release window”
Describes the footage as “a mixture of event scenes and combat against apparent undead foes”.
“Game Science has not even launched a store page for this game on Steam or the Epic Games Store.”
Also reports Unreal Engine 5, and infers a PC capture from the 21:9 aspect ratio.
“This six-minute short film, created entirely in-engine, depicts the most extraordinary…cooking you’ve ever seen.”
Reports the studio labelling the short “non-canon” and “unrelated to the main storyline”.
Background on how the previous game reached platforms. Notes Game Science had denied a year-long exclusivity deal.
- Game Science Reference
“Game Science was founded on 13 June 2014.”
Used only for studio background. Tertiary source: treated as Reported, never as Official.
- Zhong Kui the Demon Queller (after 1624) Reference
“he subjugated two demons for Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty (618–906)”
Object 41623, after 1624. Calls him the fearless captor of ghosts and evil spirits, known in China and Japan. Supernatural stories appear in the Song dynasty (960–1279), including the Xuanzong episode. Portraits are hung at Lunar New Year to help expel evil spirits. The same entry describes this painting as a stout, boorish-looking warrior in official ceremonial attire, with a stack of books and a stringed instrument, and says that as the legend relates he once achieved top rank in the civil service examination.
“Handscroll; ink on silk”
Accession 1990.134. Catalogue record retrieved from the museum’s open-access collection API.
- Red Zhong Kui, the Demon Queller Reference
“Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk”
Accession 14.76.37. Japanese treatment of the same figure, catalogued under culture “Japan”.
- Zhong Kui Reference
“鍾馗 / 钟馗”
English translation “Zhong Kui — traditional and simplified character forms of the name.”
Used for the written name and its romanisations only. Tertiary source: treated as Reported, never as Official.
- Black Myth: Zhong Kui Reference
“is scheduled to be released for PC and consoles”
Checked on 2026-09-03 for named characters and named platforms. The article names no boss and no specific console, which is why it is cited here as negative evidence. Tertiary source: treated as Reported, never as Official.
- Pinyin Reference
“The International Organization for Standardization propagated Hanyu Pinyin as ISO 7098 in 1982.”
Used for the status of Hanyu Pinyin as the standard romanisation system. Tertiary source: treated as Reported, never as Official.
Links open the original page. We quote and link rather than re-host, and record the date each source was last opened.
Editorial promise
Uncertainty is part of the answer.
We record the source URL, publication date, access date and relevant quotation for important claims. When information changes, the page is updated instead of spawning a new duplicate article.