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 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.”
0:00:00 Introduction0:01:07 News 1: PS5 Pro name, design possibly leaked0:27:16 News 2: Why isn’t Black Myth: Wukong on Xbox?0:41:24 News 3: Astro Bot VR ruled out – but PC could be coming0:49:53 News 4: MGS Delta: Snake Eater preview!1:06:53 News 5: Silent Hill 2 hands-on!1:26:24 News 6: Avowed vows to target 30fps on Xbox Series consoles1:34:48 Supporter Q1: What games do you most want to see updated for PS5 Pro?1:41:36 Supporter Q2: How will Microsoft deal with the PS5 Pro?1:52:24 Supporter Q3: Could Intel GPUs be in the next-gen consoles?1:56:35 Supporter Q4: Given that the 4090 can no longer sustain native 4K at max settings in a lot of games, are we about to hit a performance wall?2:04:28 Supporter Q5: Did Sony and Microsoft underestimate the needed console specs this generation?2:12:19 Supporter Q6: Would DF consider adding a quantitative rating system to their reviews?
There’s definitely the sense that Game Science had some issues working on its first triple-A console title. For starters, the PlayStation 5 version has technical issues and also some poor decisions in terms of presentation. A 30fps quality mode runs with an unlocked frame-rate, adding needless judder. An intermediate ‘balance’ mode caps at 45fps, meaning there is no PS5-compatible display in the world that will give smooth, consistent performance. And finally, the 60fps performance mode uses FSR 3 frame generation to increase frame-rate at the expense of responsiveness and easily noticeable artefacts. The chances are an Xbox Series X version would have turned out much the same, while Xbox Series S would have been an altogether more challenging prospect.