Is ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ on Nintendo Switch?
Since February, aside from a heaping handful of absolutely incredible indie games, 2024 has been a relatively quiet year for games. At least it has been compared to the last two years, when everyone felt like they were unable to keep up with the relentless release calendar.
But there have still been some bangers—just at a more reasonable pace. In June, there was Shadow of the Erdtree, the Elden Ring DLC which is big enough to be its own game. On August 20, 2024, the next hot video game will be released: Black Myth: Wukong.
Black Myth: Wukong is intriguing for a number of reasons. It’s the first AAA game ever produced in China. With a whopping budget of $50 million, it’s also one of the most expensive games ever produced by a Chinese studio. The team behind it is Game Science, which was founded by ex-Tencent employees.
Wukong is based on Journey to the West, a classic 16th-century Chinese novel. Think of it as China’s version of The Odyssey, but very Buddhist and with the Monkey King as the protagonist instead of an absentee dad. (The team behind Gorillaz make a Journey to the West opera a decade-ish back. It was pretty great.)
For all the reasons above, Black Myth: Wukong is a fascinating cultural touchstone. And it’s getting very positive reviews, too. But if you’re looking to play it on any but a couple of systems, you might be out of luck.
Where can you play Black Myth: Wukong?
With its budget of about $50 million USD, you might not be surprised to learn that Black Myth: Wukong is an incredibly high-performance game. One of the most common points of praise among reviewers is the game’s beauty. But such beauty comes at a cost when in terms of accessibility. Not every system can keep up.
Black Myth: Wukong is currently only available for PlayStation 5 and Windows. Not even XBox can get in on this buddy yet. With that high performance rate in mind, it’s unlikely the game will migrate to the Nintendo Switch. And I say that with all the love in the world for the Switch. It does what it does incredibly. A game like Wukong is simply not what it does.
The Switch’s successor is slated to be announced before March of next year, with an estimated late 2025 release date. We’re not sure what to expect, but if the console’s specs make for a significant upgrade from the Switch, it’s possible Black Myth: Wukong could eventually end up over there. But if you only own a Switch, that unfortunately still requires you to buy a new system to play this game.
At least the Switch is getting a new Donkey Kong remaster soon. That’s a fun monkey-centric game, right?
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