Black Myth: Wukong's Record-Breaking Sales Represent Another Xbox Mistep

The company's baffling inability to consistently deliver compelling experience has allowed Sony to strengthen its position, now even in a rare market where they were supposed to be on equal grounds.

The situation in China is particularly concerning for Xbox, as it represents a massive, relatively untapped market of 1.4 billion potential consumers. With the PS5 gaining ground rapidly due to Black Myth: Wukong's success, Sony will benefit enormously if it can dominate this emerging console market, which it probably will, thanks to the China Hero Project.

Despite having the financial resources and potential to attract top talent, Microsoft has failed to capitalize on its flagship franchises like Halo and Gears of War and its recent attempts to acquire major publishers, totaling around $80 billion, have amounted to pretty much nothing.

Instead of releasing banger after banger or even investing money in third-party publishers that could potentially drive up sales—someone tell Phil Spencer that it's still true that games drive console numberst—Xbox is instead investing in making its games available on other platforms while letting go of some of their acquisitions like Tango Gameworks even when they're responsible for one of the few exclusives that were actually good.

For Xbox, the path forward remains uncertain. While Xbox still has loyal fans and Microsoft's coffers at its disposal, it faces an uphill battle in regaining lost ground. The company may have to reassess its strategy, especially if, by the end of the year, the PlayStation 5 Pro comes out and becomes the preferred platform for both Black Myth: Wukong and Grand Theft Auto 6.

Looking ahead, the gaming landscape continues to shape itself into a new form, not unlike how Sun Wukong can't seem to decide what form he wants to take when he wants to pummel gods, demons, and beasts alike with equal enthusiasm.

Nintendo's anticipated Switch 2, rumored to offer PS4-like quality through excellent DLSS and custom Nvidia GPUs, could introduce a new competitor. This potential for a three-way competition could benefit consumers by pushing all companies to innovate and improve their offerings.

For now, it seems Sony and Nintendo have the upper hand, leaving Xbox with little choice but to play catch-up for the nth year in a row.