Xbox backlash grows as developer claims ‘they don’t care’

Enotria: The Last Song, a Soulslike game inspired by Italian folklore, is set to release on 17th September for PS5 and PC. However, Xbox players will have to wait – perhaps indefinitely – due to platform submission issues and what the developer claims is a lack of support from Microsoft.

Jacky Greco, CEO of Jyamma Games, the studio behind Enotria, said: “We’ve Xbox Series X/S version ready, but we can’t proceed with submission and release. I spent a lot of money porting and they decided to ignore us.”

Speaking to Insider Gaming, Greco elaborated that a bug had prevented Jyamma Games from opening its store page on Xbox and submitting the game. Initially, Microsoft was responsive but subsequently ceased communication.

Enotria’s predicament is not an isolated incident. A number of recent and upcoming titles have either skipped or delayed their Xbox launch for perplexing, and often frustrating, reasons.

Baldur’s Gate 3, a multi-award winning title – including GOTY – was notably absent from Xbox Series X/S last year for months after its PS5 release, allegedly due to optimisation issues associated with the Series S. Given the game’s popularity even on the handheld Steam Deck, it didn’t give the best impression of the Xbox platform.

Over the past few months, Capcom announced ports of retro games for PS4, PS5, PC, and Switch. Once again, the inclusion of last-gen consoles and handhelds – but not any Xbox – once again did not give the best impression of Microsoft’s platform. Fortunately, Capcom this week said that after “technical discussions” with Microsoft, the anticipated ports will be released on Xbox.

We're happy to announce that after technical discussions with our partners at Microsoft, MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics and Capcom Fighting Collection 2 will release on Xbox One! 🎉

Both Xbox versions arrive in 2025, so stay tuned for more information! pic.twitter.com/Omdfe6IgYH

— Capcom USA (@CapcomUSA_) September 3, 2024

Black Myth: Wukong’s launch on PS5 and absence from Xbox has faced speculation. Theories ranged from hardware constraints to undisclosed exclusivity agreements with Sony.

Adding to Xbox players’ woes is Funcom’s forthcoming Dune: Awakening, a crafting survival simulation that is scheduled for release early next year.

“There’s a lot of optimisations we need to do before we release on the Xbox,” Scott Junior, Funcom’s chief product officer, informed VG247. “But yeah, Xbox Series S is a challenge.”

Unlike others, Jyamma Games is unequivocal about the cause of Enotria’s delay.

“You can ask Xbox why they haven’t answered us for two months,” Greco wrote on Discord. “Obviously they don’t care about Enotria and they don’t care about you.”

The situation has only aided in fuelling growing dissatisfaction among developers and players alike, prompting questions about Microsoft’s support and communication policies.

As the Xbox platform continues to lose out on major releases or experience significant delays, questions about its future continue to be raised.

Pretty damning public statement from a developer here

This plus:

-Dune Awakening devs say supporting the Series S will be "a challenge"
-Indy's tiny exclusivity window
-Baldur's Gate 3 Series S debacle caused 3-month Xbox delay

Any Xbox fan would understandably be left saying https://t.co/BevCN4HxvI pic.twitter.com/iIte3sRiFv

— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) September 2, 2024

With Xbox pushing its “no console required” cloud gaming narrative and bringing many of its exclusives to rival platforms – all while Sony and Nintendo show no rush to reciprocate – it’s left many players wondering why they should invest in Xbox.

Declining interest from players leads to declining interest from game developers, and quickly the platform could find itself in a death spiral. Microsoft was once lauded for the support it gave to developers through its ID@Xbox acceleration program, but now they’re clearly giving the impression they “don’t care”.

(Photo by Berke Can)

See also: Roblox developers targeted by year-long malware campaign

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Tags: coding, development, game development, gamedev, gaming, microsoft, platforms, programming, Xbox