Black Myth: Wukong Xbox version delayed, as game breaks sales records

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Black Myth: Wukong, one of the most eagerly anticipated video games of 2024, hit the shelves last month, and was well received by both critics and players.

However, it was hard not to notice that the game failed to arrive on the Xbox Series X and S consoles, only seeing a release on the PlayStation 5 and PC.

Rumors had been circulating this summer that this was due to Game Science’s (the developer behind the game) inability to get the game to run on the Xbox Series S, this relating to a memory leak issue of some sort (as was covered on IGN).

Microsoft, though, recently clarified to Forbes that the delay was not due to “platform limitations”. Also, the Redmond giant said it is “excited for the launch of Black Myth Wukong on Xbox Series X|S and are working with Game Science to bring the game to our platforms”.

“We’d prefer not to comment on the deals made by our partners with other platform holders but we can confirm that the delay is not due to Xbox platform limitations that have been raised to us”, added Microsoft in its statement.

However, and despite Microsoft’s words, it’s clear that fitting a game as demanding as Black Myth: Wukong on the Xbox Series S might prove something of a nightmare for Chinese developer Game Science. After all, this is a game that can make the most powerful graphics card on the planet (Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4090) sweat according to IGN, so bringing it to the lowly Xbox Series S might prove something of a problem, even if Microsoft is actively working with Game Science to bring the game to the Xbox platform as it told Forbes this month.

The Xbox Series S is the least powerful platform the game is releasing on, its computing power equivalent to about 4 teraflops. Meanwhile, its cousin the Xbox Series X has an equivalent computing power of 12 teraflops, while Sony’s PS5 can do 10 teraflops. High-end gaming PCs are even more powerful than this, and can run the game with more graphical detail than the consoles at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second.

Despite the Xbox Series S limitations, though, there could be another reason for the delay of the game’s launch on Microsoft’s consoles. Microsoft itself refers to “deals made by our partners with other platform holders” in its statement, suggesting there’s some sort of timed exclusivity deal between Sony and Game Science here.

This does make sense taking into account Black Myth: Wukong was one of the hottest games releasing this summer. Sony perhaps might have helped with the game’s development to make sure it arrived on PS5 at launch rather than inking a formal, announced exclusivity deal with the people at Game Science as Forbes has suggested.

And Black Myth: Wukong, or the “Chinese monkey game” as some have taken to calling it online, has been a smash hit so far. It sold a whopping 10 million copies in three days, meaning it is one of the fastest-selling games of all time. On PC, it helped Steam surpass 37 million concurrent players for the first time ever during its launch weekend which is no mean feat, and shows how massive interest in this game has been…

At the time of writing, the game has shifted 18 million copies,  and generated more than $800 million US dollars in revenue. It has sold faster than the likes of Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy and Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Taking these numbers into account it’s not surprising that the game is getting and expansion, with the game’s top investor telling GameSpot that expected the game to sell 30 million copies during its lifetime.

Black Myth: Wukong’s success is also proof of the enduring popularity of Souls-like game, or games based on Japanese designer’s Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Dark Souls series. Wukong is as bloody hard as any of these (and reminds me more of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in this regard) but draws inspiration from Chinese mythology and the classic novel Journey to the West.  Its protagonist is the “Monkey King”, also known as the “Victorious Fighting Buddha” in the novel.

It’s also an accomplished third-person action game in its own right according to most reviews, and shows how Chinese developers can take the world by storm with games like this one, with Wukong likely to continue selling well in the West for the remainder of 2024 too.

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