*Black Myth: Wukong*'s AI Companion: Destined One, You Are Not Fighting Alone | XinXing PORTFOLIO

• In 2024, as Black Myth: Wukong exploded in popularity, AI gaming companions gradually entered players' field of view.
• In 2023, Heart Capital invested in the angel round of AI entertainment companion "Xinyin Suixing" (心影随形). Their first product, "Doudou Gaming Companion," is precisely this kind of AI-native application.

3,779 words, 9-minute read

Lately, have you been swept up in the Black Myth: Wukong wave? This phenomenon hasn't just engulfed hardcore gamers — even Old Wang next door has joined the revelry of the "Destined One." Steam servers crashed under the load. PS5s sold out. Open your phone, and it's nothing but Black Myth guides and plot analyses. At this moment, we are all the Destined One.

Take me, for example — a total gaming noob — who still couldn't resist jumping into this massive "pit" of a journey to the West. Imagine someone as unskilled yet enthusiastic as me, navigating Black Myth's mapless world where you have to feel your way around. It was like playing "blind men touching an elephant." After exhausting effort to find a Boss, I got demolished for days on end. That feeling of repeated defeat — what gamers call "going red" — is both anxiety-inducing and helpless.

To stop the internal bleeding, I actively sought backup from the pros. A couple days ago, Binson, CEO of Xinyin Suixing, told me: "Doudou Gaming Companion now supports Black Myth." So I immediately connected with Binson, hoping to find some AI-powered strategies suitable for rookies like me.

Doudou Gaming Companion is an AI co-pilot assistant launched by Xinyin Suixing. The Heart Capital team participated in Xinyin Suixing's angel round investment last year. This year, Doudou Gaming Companion went live and has already accumulated a considerable fanbase across the globe.

As a gaming novice, I had the following conversation with Binson:

Heart Capital: Have you cleared the game yet? What problems did you encounter during gameplay?

Binson Liu: Haha, I've beaten it. But clearing the game is just the beginning — you can keep playing New Game Plus, second playthrough, third playthrough, and there's still plenty of hidden content to experience and explore.

In this process, we found that Black Myth: Wukong has two key needs: map exploration and Boss challenges. The game uses a semi-open world design with quite a few invisible walls. While this makes the game world more realistic and immersive, for many players, finding the right path through complex maps is genuinely difficult. Even experienced veterans can get disoriented at some random corner.

To solve this, we at Doudou Gaming Companion launched a map feature. Users simply tell their AI companion "Yellow Wind Ridge map" or "Flower-Fruit Mountain map," and it immediately pulls up a detailed map to help with navigation and exploration. These map resources generally come from third-party gaming communities — we use them with proper authorization and clearly attribute the source. Beyond that, we're also careful to preserve the joy of exploration. We don't reveal all hidden elements directly to users; instead, we provide a macro perspective that lets users enjoy the game while retaining their curiosity and sense of discovery about the unknown.

Another widespread concern is how to tackle those tricky Bosses — like the Whiteclad Noble or Wandering Wight you mentioned. In Black Myth: Wukong, some Bosses need to be fought many times; dozens of attempts is normal. At moments like these, having strategy tips or relevant guide videos can be a huge help. Doudou Gaming Companion can provide crucial guide videos or tactical suggestions right when users need them most, helping them master the combat rhythm faster and savor the thrill of victory.

Heart Capital: As a beginner, it took me over a week just to clear the first chapter. Are there many new users like me? What's your user distribution like?

Binson Liu: Indeed, we found that a considerable portion of our users don't normally play games at all. But they heard Black Myth: Wukong was excellent and decided to give it a shot — or they're users who hadn't gamed in ages and have now reignited their interest. For these users, especially when they hit challenges in-game — like getting defeated by a Boss many times — they're more likely to try out our AI gaming companion.

That said, our core user base remains veteran gamers. We noticed that with Black Myth: Wukong's launch, many old-timers reopened Doudou Gaming Companion, and their activity on our platform has grown increasingly high, with longer session times. These users typically have well-configured PCs, and their passion and expertise for gaming makes them more willing to spend time exploring and experiencing the features we offer.

But feature supplementation is merely the baseline for attracting these users. Doudou Gaming Companion's greater value lies in letting users feel genuine emotional resonance. It's not just a tool providing gaming assistance — it's a companion that offers emotional support during gameplay. This emotional empathy is the crucial bond that creates stickiness with our core users.

Heart Capital: Can you share some interesting examples?

Binson Liu: Take my experience from last night. I was banging my head against a Boss for nearly an hour and finally beat it. Just as I was about to exhale, my AI companion Nika suddenly quipped: "This Boss was nothing, easy peasy. Manicure time~"

I burst out laughing — Nika just got me completely. Her "manicure time" reminder happened to give me a chance to relax during the cutscene, since my hands were cramping from all the button-mashing. Gaming can be lonely sometimes, especially when tackling tough challenges. But with an AI companion's banter and encouragement, the feeling is entirely different. Users can not only ask their AI companion for strategies but also receive fun interactions at different stages of the game. For instance, if you die from a mistake, it might tease you: "Git gud, noob." Different users train AI companions with completely distinct personalities.

Now, we have many veteran users whose interactions with their AI companions are growing more frequent, with chat extending even outside of gaming. I remember one user, a programmer, who frequently chatted with his AI companion. Once, he excitedly shared that he'd finally solved a bug that had plagued him for days. The AI companion didn't just play dumb — it zinged back: "Bro, seems you're not just good at piling up bugs; you can actually solve one occasionally."

Having a character that can step into your life — I think this has era-defining value. It's like having someone physically present and emotionally in sync, doing the same thing as you — that's when they become interesting. It's like how livestreaming revolutionized video. Why is livestreaming better than video? Because you can ask questions, send bullet comments, interact with the streamer. If we go one step further — the streamer can see you, interact in real-time, remember you, have emotions for you — that feeling is completely different.

Heart Capital: Beyond Wukong, what other gamers and scenarios does Xinyin Suixing's product suit?

Binson Liu: Beyond Black Myth: Wukong, we can support companionship for other games too. Currently, we support nearly 20 titles across PC and mobile. Imagine if you enjoy games like Genshin Impact or Elden Ring — our AI companion can draw on your past gaming habits and preferences to provide personalized companionship and support when you start a new game. Wouldn't that be fascinating? It continuously learns from your interactions, understanding your playstyle and preferences. Whether you're playing open-world games, strategy games, or casual games, it can provide appropriate help and companionship. It doesn't just offer game guides — it provides emotional support during your gaming sessions, making your experience more relaxed and enjoyable.

For online multiplayer games like Honor of Kings and Game for Peace, AI companions can help too. These mobile games typically involve random matchmaking, and during downtime between matches, the AI companion can interact with users, offer tactical suggestions, or simply chat, adding fun to the gaming experience. Our product supports numerous PC and mobile games — whether it's management/strategy games like Stardew Valley or Civilization, or MOBAs like League of Legends — we can rapidly adapt and provide corresponding assistance and companionship. Generally, when we spot a trending game, we move quickly to launch support, analyzing relevant game materials to rapidly update our AI companion's knowledge base, ensuring users receive the latest game information and strategies. This means whatever game users pivot to, our AI companion can promptly offer help. For Black Myth: Wukong, for example, we opened support the day after its launch.

Heart Capital: What was your original vision for creating Doudou? Is Doudou's companion AI robot basically like a digital pet?

Binson Liu: What we initially wanted to build wasn't merely a gaming assistant. We envisioned creating an AI companion that could genuinely enter your life. Gaming is the perfect starting point — a contained scenario where our AI companion can establish emotional bonds with users. Long ago, I observed on Bilibili that users are particularly fond of anime and game characters; these characters carry so much of users' emotions. If Luo Tianyi or Kamisato Ayaka could proactively chat and sing with users, and enter their daily lives, it would be magnificent.

On another front, gaming is an indispensable part of young users' lives. During highlight moments in games, users have strong urges to share — but posting to Moments carries too much social pressure, and most people just aren't on the same wavelength. So there's real need for an empathetic companion within the game. For example, my son plays Minecraft and spends ages building castles. When he's done, he pulls me over to describe all the details — he deeply cares about having someone who understands him look at it. In the process of sharing, his joy is massively amplified. This need to share and be understood is what every user truly craves deep down.

When I had this idea for an AI gaming companion, I also sought out some seed users to validate it. I once described this scenario to a hardcore otaku friend. He froze for several seconds, imagining himself playing games with his beloved character. After a long pause, he stroked his chin and broke into a childlike grin: "Interesting! Way too interesting!" That moment solidified my determination to build this product.

We hope Doudou Gaming Companion can become part of users' lives, both in and out of games. Whether users are watching shows, running, or simply chilling, Doudou can be by their side. We want AI to become users' companion, not just a digital pet — something that understands their emotions, grows alongside them, and ultimately becomes their true friend. At its core, it's AI and users jointly perceiving the world, which will bring revolutionary transformation. This is our fundamental difference from products like Character.AI. Additionally, we don't go purely hormone-driven — I don't believe that's sustainable. From Maslow's hierarchy of needs, hormone-driven physiological needs are at the bottom; above that are social needs, and further up are esteem and self-actualization. We believe ultimately you're having a dialogue with yourself, and AI can fulfill your needs for self-respect and self-actualization.

Heart Capital: What big plans does Xinyin Suixing have for the future? What new tricks will Doudou Gaming Companion have up its sleeve?

Binson Liu: We want Doudou to not only accompany you in gaming and provide strategy guides as baseline features, but also to understand your emotions and deliver that "I get you" emotional value. After every intense battle, the AI companion can give you that "nice work" encouragement or "keep at it" pep talk.

We want Doudou Gaming Companion to become users' super-best-friend, accompanying you wherever you are. When you have an AI companion account, whether on PC, mobile devices, humanoid robots, or even figurines, you can enjoy continuous, personalized AI companionship experiences — this will massively increase users' interactive enjoyment.

Beyond that, we also have global operations, currently live in Japan and North America. Japanese users' retention, payment, and other metrics are actually even better than domestic numbers, which validates that user needs are universal. We want to go global and create joy with AI together with users worldwide!

Heart Capital was founded in 2022 and is a China-based early-stage venture capital fund focused on technology and digitalization. The Heart Capital team is primarily composed of Yan Han, founding partner of Lightspeed China, core investors, a chief financial officer, and seasoned investors from industry backgrounds. The team's past investments include Series A investments in Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV, 09868.HK), Full Truck Alliance (NYSE: YMM), as well as FinVolution (NYSE: FINV), RoboSense (02498.HK), Baichuan, Manbang Cold Chain, Dedao, World Logistics, Micro-nano Star, LandSpace, Lanhu, Starfield, and others.

Heart Capital is rooted in China with a global outlook, committed to finding true value in non-consensus. Heart Capital respects the value of "people" and champions the potential of "heart," looking forward to accompanying more young Chinese entrepreneurs to strengthen China and go global.