Black Myth: Wukong was released earlier this week and has since topped the Steam charts, becoming one of the most played games of all time on the platform. The action RPG from Chinese developer Game Science is out on PC and PlayStation, but not yet on Xbox. While Microsoft has yet to clarify the reason for the delay, the release of Black Myth: Wukong on Xbox Series S/X has reportedly been delayed due to “technical issues.”
Black Myth: Wukong on Xbox Series S/X
According to Forbes, the Xbox release of Black Myth: Wukong has not been delayed due to an exclusive agreement between Sony and Game Science. The game is reportedly not coming to Microsoft’s consoles at the same time as other platforms due to “technical issues.”
The report does not clarify the technical issues with the Xbox version of the game, but it can be speculated that it may be related to game optimization for the high-end Xbox Series X and the less powerful Xbox Series S.
Earlier this year, Game Science clarified the reason for the game’s delay on Xbox Series S/X in the FAQ section of the game’s website. “PC and PS5 users can enjoy the full game starting August 20, 2024. We are currently optimizing the Xbox Series X|S version to meet our quality standards, so it will not be released at the same time as other platforms,” the developer said. “We apologize for the delay and want to minimize the wait time for Xbox users. We will announce a release date as soon as our quality standards are met.”
Black Myth: Wukong is built using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 and is a graphically demanding game that may have issues running smoothly on the Xbox Series S. Previously, underpowered consoles have been an obstacle to releasing games on Xbox. Baldur’s Gate 3 is releasing on Xbox Series S/X just months after launching on PC and PS5, as developer Larian Studios works to make the game’s split-screen co-op feature work best on Series S. The game was eventually released on a platform without split-screen mode.
As a matter of policy, Microsoft enforces game feature parity between its current-generation consoles, and the company intends to have games release on Xbox Series X and Series S simultaneously.
Black Myth: Wukong launches on August 20th for PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store) and PS5. Since its release, it has become the second most played game on Steam, behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, with its all-time high concurrent player count of over 2 million users on the Valve platform.