No Rest for the Wicked Xbox Port Delayed Due to Series S
▼ Summary
– Moon Studios’ action RPG *No Rest for the Wicked* is coming to PlayStation 5 in October after PC early access, but an Xbox port is delayed.
– Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler told a fan that the Xbox Series S is causing the delay due to its 8GB memory limit and strict Xbox parity rules requiring all Series X games to also run on Series S.
– Mahler denied any exclusivity deal, stating the team prioritized PS5 to satisfy console players quickly, and will optimize the game for Xbox Series S and Switch 2 after October.
– Other developers, like Chet Faliszek and Nic Weyand, have criticized the Series S parity requirement, citing struggles to get games like *The Anacrusis* running on the weaker console.
– The article questions how Rockstar’s *Grand Theft Auto 6* will run on Xbox Series S, speculating whether Xbox might break parity rules for that game.
Moon Studios has confirmed the Xbox version of No Rest for the Wicked is being pushed back, and the culprit is the Xbox Series S. The news surfaced over the weekend after the studio announced during Sony’s State of Play that the top-down action RPG would arrive on PlayStation 5 this October, following an extended early access period on PC. That left Xbox fans wondering when they would get to play the next title from the creators of Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
On June 2, Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler responded directly to a frustrated fan on Discord, offering a blunt explanation for the delay. “Series S is making that rough,” Mahler wrote, adding that the team plans to “ship it after in a good way once it’s optimized like crazy for Switch 2 and Xbox.” He was referencing Microsoft’s requirement that any game launching on Xbox Series X must also be playable on the less powerful Series S, with strict parity rules attached. This isn’t a new headache for developers. A notable example is Baldur’s Gate 3, where Larian Studios initially struggled with the split-screen mandate on Series S before eventually reaching a compromise with Xbox.
As Mahler’s Discord comment spread, he took to Twitter to clarify further, denying any exclusivity deal with Sony and reiterating that the Series S memory constraints are the core issue. “Shipping on Xbox wouldn’t have been a problem if we’d only be talking Xbox Series X. But Series S is a requirement to ship, and the biggest issue there is memory,” he explained. “On Series S, we only have 8 gigs, and since we’re constantly streaming massive amounts of data in and out, we’re not quite there yet to hit that spec, and we won’t be until October. That pass to hit Switch 2 and Xbox Series S specs will have to come afterwards cause it requires even more hardcore optimizations. And none of you would want a bad port.”
The situation has reignited debate over whether the Xbox Series S is holding back game development. Former Valve writer Chet Faliszek weighed in, saying he wishes Xbox would let developers skip the Series S entirely, claiming his team had to do “so much stupid stuff” to get The Anacrusis running on the weaker machine. Developer Nic Weyand echoed that sentiment on Bluesky, calling the parity requirement a problem that “sucks.” Even the team behind Battlefield 6 has reportedly struggled with performance on the smaller console.
All of this raises a looming question: later this year, Rockstar Games is set to release Grand Theft Auto 6 on Xbox Series S. What will that port look like? Will it run smoothly, or will Microsoft bend its own rules for the biggest game in the world? If any title could force Xbox to grant an exception, it would be GTA 6. We’ll find out soon enough.
(Source: Kotaku)
