Another gigantic DF Direct Weekly arrives today (well, on Saturday if you’re signed up to the DF Supporter Program) and amongst topics as diverse as the latest PS5 Pro rumours and Tom Morgan’s impressions of MGS Delta and the Silent Hill 2 remake, we have our own thoughts on the Black Myth: Wukong Xbox drama. Why hasn’t it appeared on Microsoft’s consoles? Is there really some kind of PlayStation exclusivity deal? Is Series S the problem? Should we take developer statements about ongoing optimisation at face value? And what about the recent ‘memory leak’ story – can this really have put the Xbox version on indefinite hold (spoilers: no).
News journalists with good track records have corroborated the Sony exclusivity angle (and to be clear, we’ve heard the same ourselves from sources with good knowledge of the situation) and the fact that Microsoft itself heavily hinted at such a deal being in place adds extra weight – all PR statements have some degree of legal vetting before they’re put out there. That said, audience reaction has quite rightfully pointed out that if there is a PlayStation deal in place, Sony is keeping awfully quiet about it. Well, the truth is that exclusivity deals can take many shapes and forms, and don’t necessarily need to include marketing.
Even so, there may well be the case that Game Science did/does require more time to get an Xbox version into shape. Back in June, a statement said, “We are currently optimising the Xbox Series X|S version to meet our quality standards, so it won’t release simultaneously with the other platforms. We apologise for the delay and aim to minimise the wait for Xbox users. We will announce the release date as soon as it meets our quality standards.”
