The real reason why Black Myth: Wukong isn't on Xbox has been revealed

UPDATE: Sources have told insider Shpeshal Nick that Black Myth: Wukong did not have timed exclusivity on PlayStation.

"I heard there was a misunderstanding around this stuff. I heard Sony only paid to help get the port done. No exclusivity," he said on Twitter.

It's possible that Sony indeed helped accelerate the game's development on PS5 without an exclusivity deal, however these are usually things that come with said deals--Final Fantasy XVI, for example, benefitted from close access to Sony's tech teams as part of the game's exclusivity deal on PS5.

In an official statement published in a pre-order FAQ on June 8, Black Myth: Wukong developer Game Science said that it is still working on the Xbox Series X/S version, and plans to release it when it "meets our quality standards":

"We are currently optimizing the Xbox Series X|S version to meet our quality standards, so it won't release simultaneously with the other platforms. We apologize for the delay and aim to minimize the wait for Xbox users. We will announce the release date as soon as it meets our quality standards."

Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb has also chimed in, saying that sources told him that Sony has "no money marketing deal keeping the game off Xbox."

Original article continues below.

Why is Black Myth: Wukong, the world's current hottest game, not on Xbox Series X/S? It turns out the reason isn't related to any kind of technical issue on Xbox hardware.

3

Black Myth: Wukong isn't on Xbox Series consoles yet because of an existing console exclusivity deal with Sony, sources have told Forbes' Paul Tassi and IGN's Kat Bailey. Game Science has apparently signed a private deal that calls for Black Myth: Wukong staying exclusive to PlayStation 5. The exact terms of this deal are unknown, as is usually the case with partnerships of this nature.

"A source with knowledge of the situation has told me that Black Myth: Wukong is not currently on Xbox because of an exclusivity deal, and is not delayed because of any sort of technical issue," Tassi wrote on Twitter. "From the start, the statements from Game Science and Microsoft conflicted with each other, with Game Science citing optimization while Microsoft cited "deals with other platform holders."

The report has since been corroborated by IGN's news director Kat Bailey.

Neither Game Science nor Sony have discussed these details publicly.

3

Black Myth: Wukong remains one of the best-selling games of all time, and one of the fastest-selling new titles in recent memory. Wukong has sold 10 million copies within 3 days of release (including pre-orders), tying it with mega-hits like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Pokemon Scarlet/Violet.

Other games such as Cyberpunk 2077 (11 million sold in 1 day) and GTA V (also 11 million sold in 1 day) have beaten Wukong's success.

The game remains incredibly popular on Steam, where it has continually been the top-selling game on the platform for over a week--only having recently been dethroned by Black Ops 6.

Black Myth: Wukong remains the #1 best-seller on the PlayStation Store at the time of writing.