The head of Black Myth: Wukong, developer of Game Science, pointed the finger at the Xbox Series S console due to the lack of an Xbox version of the game.
In a post on a Chinese social networking site WeiboGame Science co-founder and CEO Feng Ji praised the action game Black Myth: Wukong’s Game of the Year for PC and PlayStation 5 at the 2024 Steam Awards, lamenting the lack of an Xbox version of the game, which he blamed on issues with optimization of the Xbox Series S console.
“The only thing missing is an Xbox,” he said in a machine learning translation, “which seems a little inappropriate, but that 10GB of shared memory — without years of optimization experience — is really hard to use.”
This is a reference to the power of the Xbox Series S compared to the Xbox Series X. The Series S has 4TF of GPU processing power compared to the 12.2TF of the Xbox Series
Microsoft’s rules for releasing games on Xbox mean that publishers and developers must make their games available on Xbox Series X and S consoles. For example, they cannot release games exclusively on Xbox Series X. This has caused difficulties for some studios in the past, perhaps primarily to Larian, the creator of Baldur’s Gate 3. Baldur’s Gate 3 was originally released exclusively on PC and PS5, and the Xbox version was delayed due to issues with the Xbox Series S, which made it particularly challenging split-screen collaboration. In the past, Xbox has pledged to maintain parity between Xbox Series S and X across all games, but that hasn’t happened ultimately made an exception for Baldur’s Gate 3 so that the game can launch later in 2023.
In 2023, Remedy’s director of communications, Thomas Puha, spoke openly about the challenge the studio faced in getting Alan Wake 2 to run well on Xbox Series S, saying that the console’s GPU “is an issue” and “less memory is quite a big deal.” problem”. Previously, a visual effects artist who worked on the game for Xbox Series X and S said in a now-deleted tweet that “many developers have been sitting in meetings for the past year, desperately trying to reduce the requirements for the Series S launch.”
“The studios went through one development cycle in which the Series S turned out to be an albatross on the back of production, and now that games are being intensively created with up-to-date consoles in mind, teams do not want to repeat this process,” the developer said.
In press interviews, among others: IGNXbox chief Phil Spencer has dismissed questions about whether Xbox Series S is holding developers back and rejected calls to allow developers to release their games exclusively on Xbox Series X. In an interview with EurogamerSpencer said: “Having the base price of the console under $300 is a good thing for the industry. I think it’s important. The Switch was able to do that, in terms of the traditional plug-in-my-TV consoles kind of thing, I think that’s important.
The situation with Black Myth: Wukong is further complicated by Microsoft’s insistence that the game’s delay on Xbox has nothing to do with development issues. In a series of statements to IGN, Microsoft suggested that the delay was due to an exclusivity agreement with Sony.
“As we’ve said before, we’re excited to launch Black Myth Wukong on Xbox Series X and S and are working with Game Science to bring the game to our platforms,” Microsoft told IGN.
“We would prefer not to comment on our partners’ agreements with other platform owners, but we can confirm that the delay is not due to Xbox platform limitations that have been presented to us.”
Black Myth: Wukong was released on August 19 and has sold a staggering 18 million copies in just two weeks on PC and PS5, reportedly grossing over $700 million. This was enough for Black Myth: Wukong to take the top spot alongside Grand Theft Auto 5 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as one of the fastest-selling games of all time, an astonishing turnaround for a game that had a budget of $70 million dollars over six years of development. It worked out so well Sony indicated that Black Myth: Wukong is a significant contributor to revenue in the last fiscal quarter to make up for the Concord disaster.
DLC is to follow. In September, investor Game Science Hero Games confirmed the plans release an Elden Ring-style expansion for Black Myth: Wukong before any sequel.
IGN The Black Myth: Wukong Review returned 8/10. We said: “Despite some frustrating technical issues, Black Myth: Wukong is a great action game with fantastic combat, exhilarating bosses, tantalizing secrets, and a pretty world.”
While you’re here, IGN has plenty of other Black Myth: Wukong guides to help you, including Essential advice and tips, Things the Black Myth: Wukong won’t tell youand ours Boss list and guides.
Wesley is the UK news editor at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
