The fantasy action RPG Black Myth: Wukong launched for the PC and PS5 platforms on Monday. We have already reported that the debut game from developer Game Science has become a monster hit on Valve"s Steam service in just the first 24 hours.
As of this writing, the game is not only the best-selling title on Steam, but it reached a peak (so far) of 2,223,179 concurrent online players on Valve"s service. That makes it the most-played single-player game on Steam ever and the second-most-played game, period. Only PUBG: Battlegrounds has had a higher concurrent player count on Steam.
So, with Black Myth: Wukong becoming a massive hit, many people are wondering when, or if, there will be a version of the Unreal Engine 5-based game for Microsoft Xbox Series X and S consoles. Indeed, the game was slated to come out for the Xbox consoles on Monday, but earlier this summer, Game Science stated in an FAQ page that the Xbox version had been delayed due to improvements in optimizations.
With the game now out for the PC and PS5, Windows Central contacted Microsoft to get an update on the Xbox release for Black Myth: Wukong. It received a response from an unnamed spokesperson:
We’re 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 can"t comment on the deals made by our partners with other platform holders, but we remain focused on making Xbox the best platform for gamers, and great games are at the center of that.
There was no mention of the optimizations that Game Science mentioned in its FAQ, and the language of Microsoft"s statement suggests that the developer of the game might have made some kind of timed exclusive deal with Sony for the PS5. Windows Central suggests, via unnamed sources, that such a deal was indeed put in place. However, there"s been no confirmation of such a pact.
In any case, the game is still slated to come out for Xbox consoles at some point, but we are still awaiting an exact date.