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It’s been over four months since Black Myth: Wukong took the world by storm, shattering records and capturing hearts with its stunning interpretation of the Journey to the West saga. While PlayStation and PC players have been living their best Monkey King lives, Xbox fans have been left watching from the sidelines, clutching onto the vague promise of a “later date” release.
Journey to the Green Team’s platform? Not so much. | Image Credit: Game ScienceThat promise has grown increasingly hollow with each passing month, as Game Science continues to shower PlayStation players with updates and improvements. And now, with the latest PS5 Pro patch dropping just in time for the holidays, it seems the writing is finally on the wall for Xbox hopefuls.
A tale of broken promises and technical excuses
When Black Myth: Wukong skipped its Xbox launch in August, the initial explanation seemed reasonable enough. Game Science cited “optimization” needs and “quality standards” as the reason for the delay. But as summer turned to fall, and fall to winter, the story began to shift with the consistency of Sun Wukong’s own transformations.
First came whispers of technical troubles—a mysterious memory leak that supposedly prevented the game from passing Xbox certification. Then emerged more intriguing rumors about a possible exclusivity deal with Sony, though both parties remained suspiciously quiet on the matter.
The silence speaks volumes, especially considering how vocal Game Science had been about their “commitment to all platforms” during the game’s pre-release hype cycle.
Even Xbox boss Phil Spencer‘s recent coy response to questions about the game’s status—a knowing laugh and “I can’t announce that”—has only added fuel to the speculation fire. It’s a dance we’ve seen before with other titles, but rarely has the choreography been quite so obvious.
The situation becomes even more peculiar when you consider that other demanding titles (like Alan Wake 2) managed to launch simultaneously across all platforms. What makes Wukong so special? Or perhaps more accurately, what makes it so specifically challenging for Xbox?
The PS5 Pro patch that speaks volumes
Sunken dreams. | Image Credit: Game ScienceWhile Xbox players continue to wait in limbo, Game Science has recently rolled out a substantial update for PS5 owners. The patch not only adds dedicated PS5 Pro support with PSSR for enhanced visuals but also improves the base console experience with new features like a sharpening slider and modified Lumen GI presentation.
Digital Foundry’s analysis reveals significant improvements across all three performance modes, with the quality mode now offering higher resolution shadows and improved foliage draw distance. The balance mode introduces a clever 40fps/120Hz option, while the performance mode pushes frame generation to new heights. It’s the kind of loving attention to detail that makes the Xbox version’s continued absence all the more glaring.
What’s particularly telling is the timing of this update. Rather than focusing resources on bringing the game to Xbox, Game Science has chosen to prioritize optimization for Sony’s glorified $699.99 (stand not included) mid-gen upgrade. They’re literally fine-tuning the PlayStation experience to perfection while Xbox players remain stuck in limbo.
At this point, Xbox fans might want to circle the Year of the Monkey on their calendars—it might arrive before Wukong does on their platform of choice. But hey, at least they’ll have plenty of time to perfect their Monkey King impressions.
What do you think about the situation? Is Game Science giving Xbox players the cold shoulder, or is there more to this story than meets the eye? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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