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Update via Eurogamer:

Jyamma Games has "officially apologised to the Xbox community" after deciding not to release the soulslike Enotria: The Last Song on Xbox in order to ensure a "superior experience" for players on PC and PS5.

In a press statement, CEO Giacomo Greco apologised for taking so long to tell Xbox players that the game would not be coming to Xbox Series X/S, saying it was a "choice that has just been made" and that "making the release on all platforms would lead to a decrease in the overall quality of the product and a further delay of the same".

"I want you to know that the delay caused by the launch on the same date of [Elden Ring's DLC] gave us the opportunity to take more time to further improve the product, this led to raising the bar and, as CEO, I'm responsible for the final quality of the product," Greco said.

"Having said that, I would never have allowed our game to come out discreetly on all platforms, I prefer the game to be perfect on two platforms rather than discreet on three."

Greco further added that once the game has debuted on PC and PS5 the team will "also be working on the Xbox version, as well as the DLC, so we can also give the game to Microsoft users".

As for why Jyamma Games decided to forego the Xbox version?

"The choice fell on PS5 rather than on Xbox simply because we have a relationship with our partners in Asia (SEGA) with whom we have agreements that we want to respect for them as a matter of respect," the CEO said.

"As you may all know, the Asian market is for a large part dominated by the PlayStation, so the PS5 was the logical choice. I want to point out, however, some things, Jyamma Games is an independent software house that has never been funded by anyone, including Microsoft, some accusations that have been made by some users are at the limit of the legal complaint about this issue.

"I hope that now everything is clearer and that the Xbox community is not offended for a choice that was [sic] forced to make," they concluded.

Enotria: The Last Song was initially set to release in June, but its launch date was pushed back by developer Jyamma Games, ensuring it avoids the Elden Ring DLC. The Italian Soulslike will now release on 21st August.

---

Via Gematsu:

Italian Soulslike action RPG Enotria: The Last Song will launch for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on August 21, developer Jyamma Games announced. A demo is coming soon. The previously announced Xbox Series version is no longer planned and will be reassessed post-launch.

Here is a message from Jyamma Games CEO Jacky Greco regarding the release date announcement and canceled Xbox Series release:

“I’m proud of the work that the entire team has accomplished, especially when considering that we are an indie company team of just 60 people, in contrast to the numerous Soulslike games that have been recently developed by teams, including outsourcing assistance, numbering over 700 individuals.

“During the transition from Unreal 4 to Unreal 5, we managed to expand the game and elevate it in terms of content and quality going beyond the expected AA standards. Presently, the game offers three main regions with over 40 hours of gameplay, more than 100 different enemies, supported by a robust RPG system.

“We focused extensively on aspects beloved by souls-like players, particularly the diversity of builds and weaponry.

“Our Skill Tree and Mask-switch systems promise to revolutionize the souls-like genre with unprecedented build diversification.

“Currently, we offer 68 skills and 30 masks, resulting in over 150 million possible combinations. This, coupled with over 120 available weapons, 30 aspects (stats modifiers), and more than 45 spells, expands the possibilities beyond anything seen before.

“We are eagerly anticipating the freedom players will have within our game.

“A demo will soon be released on PlayStation 5, Steam, and Epic store, affording potential buyers the opportunity to experience the game before making a purchase. We are confident they will be enamored with it, and this will also provide us with valuable feedback from players worldwide.

“Regarding the release on Xbox, we have decided, in the interest of ensuring a superior experience for PC and PlayStation 5 players, to reassess the possibility of an Xbox release post-launch.”

As previously announced, Enotria: The Last Song will be priced at $49.99 for the standard edition and $59.99 for the Deluxe edition. The latter includes 72 hours of early access, digital art book, original soundtrack and digital art book extracts, an exclusive weapons set, upgrade materials from weapons, masks, and lines, extra Miracle Pesto, Hymn of Vigor, and Armonia Sap, and access to upcoming downloadable content

Release date trailer:



Previous thread on GAF about the game:

News - Trailer - Enotria: The Last Song - Soulslike set in a beautiful sun-lit world inspired by Italian folklore coming to PS5, XBS and PC in 2024 | TGS 2023

Enotria: The Last Song is a soulslike set in a beautiful sun-lit world inspired by Italian folklore where the brightest sun casts the darkest shadow. Wear unique role-altering masks, face formidable foes and alter reality with the power of Ardore to unravel the secrets of Enotria. Full TGS...

www.neogaf.com

 

[linkent]

Series S holding back?

 

[Ashamam]

Series S holding back?

Who knows, could be technical, the S is hard to get up to spec, could be financial, they don't believe the Series platform will make enough to justify the dev costs.

 

[TheShocker]

The non-stop pain that is an Xbox owner.

 

[M1chl]

Looks like shit anyway

 

[onQ123]

Do they know how much engagement they're gonna mis out on?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Series S holding back?

more like install base holding back

 

[Crayon]

This xbox tax is getting out of hand.

 

[SneakersSO]

For context - cancellations/delays like this are almost unheard of barring some bizarre technical issues. The word around the time multiplat Xbox news was breaking out was that this was gonna shake up plans for platform support, and loads of stories from pubs and devs of all sizes is starting to surface. We are gonna see more notable skips.

 

[salva]

 

[CamHostage]

For context - cancellations/delays like this are almost unheard of barring some bizarre technical issues. The word around the time multiplat Xbox news was breaking out was that this was gonna shake up plans for platform support, and loads of stories from pubs and devs of all sizes is starting to surface. We are gonna see more notable skips.

Wait, who told you that? It's certainly something that happens, especially for first-time development studios (which tend to over-promise release plans through either inexperience or over-ambition or nervousness to deny investors of a revenue opp or all three conditions.)

This situation might be technical, maybe. It also might be any number of issues a self-publishing studio distributing across multiple platforms could be facing. A company evaluating its QA phase plans and going, "Oh fuck, we might be in trouble..." is not a shockingly impossible scenario. Contractually, it's probably not an option usually, but in the current market, the Xbox SKU would be an easy pressure-release valve to yank.

 

[hyperbertha]

Jyamma games have made a grave mistake. Xbox games are very important in American culture. By not releasing on xbox, they have shot themselves in the foot.

 

[Little Chicken]

Doesn't look worthy of an XBOX SERIES X|S release so good riddance

 

[Bartski]

I'll check the demo

 

[Aion002]

Seems janky. But I will definitely try the demo.

 

[Katatonic]

 

[skit_data]

“Regarding the release on Xbox, we have decided, in the interest of ensuring a superior experience for PC and PlayStation 5 players, to reassess the possibility of an Xbox release post-launch.”

That's a blunt but accurate way of putting it, to say the least.

 

[Valonquar]

Daaad! I want to release my low effort Soulslike on console!
Okay son, but only on PS

 

[PanzerCute]

Jyamma games have made a grave mistake. Xbox games are very important in American culture. By not releasing on xbox, they have shot themselves in the foot.

Good one haha

 

[SneakersSO]

Wait, who told you that? It's certainly "heard of", especially for first-time development studios (which tend to over-promise release plans through either inexperience or over-ambition or nervousness to deny investors of a revenue opp or all three conditions.)

This situation might be technical, maybe. It also might be any number of issues a self-publishing studio distributing across multiple platforms could be facing. A company evaluating its QA phase plans and going, "Oh fuck, we might be in trouble..." is not a shockingly impossible scenario. Contractually, it's probably not an option usually, but in the current market, the Xbox SKU would be an easy pressure-release valve to yank.

First, once a game announced release platforms and dates for all of them, its VERY unusual for that to get changed. Its one of thing if a developer/pub won't commit to platforms while things are being hashed. In fact, most games, especially if they have a publisher (even if they are self-publishing) and are above a certain funding level, all must sign release agreements with platform holders ensuring that the release will, outside of certain restrictions (which includes financial burdens on the dev/pub fyi), come out with near-parity with other platforms, both in terms of release and in terms of performance.

Second, this isn't just some game. Yes, most folks haven't heard of it, but this game has been featured by ID@Xbox, in indie showcases by Xbox, and has trailers on the official channels of Xbox, meaning Xbox and this dev are in contact. What this means is that if there were technical issues holding the game back, these devs have the contacts and even resources to get that fixed. Microsoft (and Sony as well) will regularly loan engineering staff to get ports working proper on their machines, and they have entire floating engineering teams dedicated specifically to 3rd party outreach. I have worked with folks from both Sony and MS in this capacity and they are all quite fantastic.

We're going to see a lot of devs and pubs in the future skip the Xbox SKU for a host of reasons. I'm sure these devs were banking on signing a GP deal that just never materialized - word on the street is 3rd party GP budget is now a husk of its former $1b per year self.

 

[kungfuian]

From a marketing perspective announcing the skip/delay, and the extra pair of eyes that brings, might have more value than actually releasing on the Xbox platform.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Doesn't look worthy of an XBOX SERIES X|S release so good riddance

 

[Daneel Elijah]

We're going to see a lot of devs and pubs in the future skip the Xbox SKU for a host of reasons. I'm sure these devs were banking on signing a GP deal that just never materialized - word on the street is 3rd party GP budget is now a husk of its former $1b per year self.

This should be worthy of a thread in itself. Thanks for the info. I am curious about what could be the consequences for the dev? If they got help from Xbox will they have to pay it back? I suppose that Xbox will refuse to work with them in the future.

 

[CamHostage]

We're going to see a lot of devs and pubs in the future skip the Xbox SKU for a host of reasons. I'm sure these devs were banking on signing a GP deal that just never materialized - word on the street is 3rd party GP budget is now a husk of its former $1b per year self.

OK, let me back up, because I agree with and appreciate all of your points and analysis.

I was responding specifically in assumption that the one reason to skip the Xbox SKU a GAFer would be citing, the "bizarre technical issue", would be the popular public notion that Xbox Series S is the great devastator in game development. Clearly that's not where you yourself are coming from, though.

My point was just that it was much more likely a financial and development hurdle issue, compounded by technical challenges piling up. (Which possibly might include Series S causing some additional bumps, but most likely projections for this platform's sales and a miss on GP due to market downturn changes made it hard to justify smoothing those bumps out, rather than Series S itself being an impassible roadblock.)

 

[adamsapple]

Quantum Error 2.0 here we go.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Quantum Error 2.0 here we go.

this is different

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Doesn't look worthy of an XBOX SERIES X|S release so good riddance

nothing is

 

[Cyberpunkd]

The non-stop pain that is an Xbox owner.

 

[Goalus]

Quantum Error 2.0 here we go.

Facts.

 

[Ashamam]

This should be worthy of a thread in itself.

Yeah would have huge implications for the value proposition of Gamepass. Would make it imperative the 1st Party titles pick up the slack. Mind you GP has been skewing too hard towards indies in my opinion (or rather scarcity of 1st party) but if 'husk' is a good description its not an adjustment, its a hard pivot. Further fuel for the hypothesis that the Xbox division has lost (edit: financial) parental support and has been told to sink or swim. (My personal hypothesis that is).

 

[Killjoy-NL]

OK, let me back up, because I agree with and appreciate all of your points and analysis.

I was responding specifically in assumption that the one reason to skip the Xbox SKU a GAFer would be citing, the "bizarre technical issue", would be the popular public notion that Xbox Series S is the great devastator in game development. Clearly that's not where you yourself are coming from, though.

My point was just that it was much more likely a financial and development hurdle issue, compounded by technical challenges piling up. (Which possibly might include Series S causing some additional bumps, but most likely projections for this platform's sales and a miss on GP due to market downturn changes made it hard to justify smoothing those bumps out, rather than Series S itself being an impassible roadblock.)

Or Xbox isn’t really worth it going forward and they might want to wait and see if sales decline even further.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

They are probably waiting for the nextboxportablesystem

 

[kiphalfton]

Doesn't look worthy of an XBOX SERIES X|S release so good riddance

Beggers can't be choosers.

 

[Stafford]

It actually will come to Xbox, just later.

Got this from XboxEra

The Last Song, Jyamma Games has released a statement to the Italian media.

"Jyamma Games officially apologizes to all Xbox players. We are well aware that the news of the lack of presence on Xbox on day one is causing many discussions on the matter and we want to clarify some aspects of the matter with this official statement.

We have been internally discussing the simultaneous release on all platforms for some time, I’m sorry to have communicated it only now, but it is a choice that was made recently and I was officially informed that releasing it on all platforms would have entailed a decline in the general quality of the product as well as a further delay of the same.

I want you to know that the delay caused by the launch on the same date as one of our competitors gave us the opportunity to take more time to further improve the product, this led to raising the bar and I, as CEO, am responsible for the final quality of the product.

That said, I would never allow our game to release discreetly on all platforms, I prefer the game to be perfect on 2 platforms rather than discreet on 3. Once we have released the game we will also get to work on the Xbox version and the DLC, so that we can also give the game to Microsoft users.

The choice fell on PS5 rather than Xbox simply because we have a relationship with our partners in Asia (SEGA) with whom we have agreements that we want to respect as a matter of respect for them. As you may all know, the Asian market is largely dominated by PlayStation, so PS5 was the most logical choice.

However, I would like to clarify some things, Jyamma Games is an independent software house that has never been financed by anyone, including Microsoft, some accusations that have been made by some users are bordering on a lawsuit regarding this issue. I hope that everything is clearer now and that the Xbox community doesn’t get angry about my forced choice."

XboxEra Community Hangout |OT12| The Dirty Dozen

For those interested in Enotria: The Last Song, Jyamma Games has released a statement to the Italian media. This is the english translation (ignore any errors if there are any, I’m Italian too 😅) "Jyamma Games officially apologizes to all Xbox players. We are well aware that the news of the...

forum.xboxera.com

 

[nikolino840]

OK, let me back up, because I agree with and appreciate all of your points and analysis.

I was responding specifically in assumption that the one reason to skip the Xbox SKU a GAFer would be citing, the "bizarre technical issue", would be the popular public notion that Xbox Series S is the great devastator in game development. Clearly that's not where you yourself are coming from, though.

My point was just that it was much more likely a financial and development hurdle issue, compounded by technical challenges piling up. (Which possibly might include Series S causing some additional bumps, but most likely projections for this platform's sales and a miss on GP due to market downturn changes made it hard to justify smoothing those bumps out, rather than Series S itself being an impassible roadblock.)

Ok but the game is already made...there's also the delay for the elden ring dlc

 

[splattered]

It actually will come to Xbox, just later.

Got this from XboxEra

The Last Song, Jyamma Games has released a statement to the Italian media.

"Jyamma Games officially apologizes to all Xbox players. We are well aware that the news of the lack of presence on Xbox on day one is causing many discussions on the matter and we want to clarify some aspects of the matter with this official statement.

We have been internally discussing the simultaneous release on all platforms for some time, I’m sorry to have communicated it only now, but it is a choice that was made recently and I was officially informed that releasing it on all platforms would have entailed a decline in the general quality of the product as well as a further delay of the same.

I want you to know that the delay caused by the launch on the same date as one of our competitors gave us the opportunity to take more time to further improve the product, this led to raising the bar and I, as CEO, am responsible for the final quality of the product.

That said, I would never allow our game to release discreetly on all platforms, I prefer the game to be perfect on 2 platforms rather than discreet on 3. Once we have released the game we will also get to work on the Xbox version and the DLC, so that we can also give the game to Microsoft users.

The choice fell on PS5 rather than Xbox simply because we have a relationship with our partners in Asia (SEGA) with whom we have agreements that we want to respect as a matter of respect for them. As you may all know, the Asian market is largely dominated by PlayStation, so PS5 was the most logical choice.

However, I would like to clarify some things, Jyamma Games is an independent software house that has never been financed by anyone, including Microsoft, some accusations that have been made by some users are bordering on a lawsuit regarding this issue. I hope that everything is clearer now and that the Xbox community doesn’t get angry about my forced choice."

XboxEra Community Hangout |OT12| The Dirty Dozen

For those interested in Enotria: The Last Song, Jyamma Games has released a statement to the Italian media. This is the english translation (ignore any errors if there are any, I’m Italian too 😅) "Jyamma Games officially apologizes to all Xbox players. We are well aware that the news of the...

forum.xboxera.com

So this dev made the decision to appease Sega and because there are dozens of Playstation users in Asia? Uhhh ok. This person is an idiot, sorry.

 

[Daneel Elijah]

So this dev made the decision to appease Sega and because there are dozens of Playstation users in Asia? Uhhh ok. This person is an idiot, sorry.

Even BG3 had to do it with PC first then PS. Saying that making the game for 1 console is easier than 2 do make sense. And if they have a deal with Sega then yes going PS is logical. The fact that they will put the game on Xbox later means that xbox accepted the situation. So I don't think that the CEO was stupid.

 

[nikolino840]

Even BG3 had to do it with PC first then PS. Saying that making the game for 1 console is easier than 2 do make sense. And if they have a deal with Sega then yes going PS is logical. The fact that they will put the game on Xbox later means that xbox accepted the situation. So I don't think that the CEO was stupid.

Larian never announced the xbox version until pressures from twitter users when they have announced the PlayStation version tho

 

[Daneel Elijah]

Larian never announced the xbox version until pressures from twitter users when they have announced the PlayStation version tho

True. But they worked hard with Xbox way before that to make it happen right? We knew 6 months before launch that the S was giving them problems. And Xbox looked into giving them a deal for Gamepass so it implies that they were in good terms. Here too it seems that Xbox is willing to wait, and that implies that in private the dev did talk with them about it. If the CEO talked too soon and that there is not a Xbox version at all then yes he is stupid.

 

[nikolino840]

True. But they worked hard with Xbox way before that to make it happen right? We knew 6 months before launch that the S was giving them problems. And Xbox looked into giving them a deal for Gamepass so it implies that they were in good terms. Here too it seems that Xbox is willing to wait, and that implies that in private the dev did talk with them about it. If the CEO talked too soon and that there is not a Xbox version at all then yes he is stupid.

Why not tell when there was the delay for the elden ring dlc?

 

[Daneel Elijah]

Why not tell when there was the delay for the elden ring dlc?

No idea, and I don't understand what you are trying to say. The elden ring dlc will be day one for both consoles right? So it being late is just From software working hard on it(and other projects like armored core maybe?)

 

[splattered]

Even BG3 had to do it with PC first then PS. Saying that making the game for 1 console is easier than 2 do make sense. And if they have a deal with Sega then yes going PS is logical. The fact that they will put the game on Xbox later means that xbox accepted the situation. So I don't think that the CEO was stupid.

Exactly, but he didn't just come out and say that. He had to open his mouth look like hes playing favorites with his statement instead of just saying "we are a small team and are financing this game ourselves, we can't afford to make the game on all consoles at once. We do value our Xbox fans and once we get the game fully polished and launched we will circle back around and start work on Xbox version and DLC"

I think people would have been fine with that answer versus "duhhhh Sega and Japan" which makes absolutely no sense.

 

[Daneel Elijah]

Exactly, but he didn't just come out and say that. He had to open his mouth look like hes playing favorites with his statement instead of just saying "we are a small team and are financing this game ourselves, we can't afford to make the game on all consoles at once. We do value our Xbox fans and once we get the game fully polished and launched we will circle back around and start work on Xbox version and DLC"

I think people would have been fine with that answer versus "duhhhh Sega and Japan" which makes absolutely no sense.

They did just that?

It actually will come to Xbox, just later.

Got this from XboxEra

The Last Song, Jyamma Games has released a statement to the Italian media.

"Jyamma Games officially apologizes to all Xbox players. We are well aware that the news of the lack of presence on Xbox on day one is causing many discussions on the matter and we want to clarify some aspects of the matter with this official statement.

We have been internally discussing the simultaneous release on all platforms for some time, I’m sorry to have communicated it only now, but it is a choice that was made recently and I was officially informed that releasing it on all platforms would have entailed a decline in the general quality of the product as well as a further delay of the same.

I want you to know that the delay caused by the launch on the same date as one of our competitors gave us the opportunity to take more time to further improve the product, this led to raising the bar and I, as CEO, am responsible for the final quality of the product.

That said, I would never allow our game to release discreetly on all platforms, I prefer the game to be perfect on 2 platforms rather than discreet on 3. Once we have released the game we will also get to work on the Xbox version and the DLC, so that we can also give the game to Microsoft users.

The choice fell on PS5 rather than Xbox simply because we have a relationship with our partners in Asia (SEGA) with whom we have agreements that we want to respect as a matter of respect for them. As you may all know, the Asian market is largely dominated by PlayStation, so PS5 was the most logical choice.

However, I would like to clarify some things, Jyamma Games is an independent software house that has never been financed by anyone, including Microsoft, some accusations that have been made by some users are bordering on a lawsuit regarding this issue. I hope that everything is clearer now and that the Xbox community doesn’t get angry about my forced choice."

XboxEra Community Hangout |OT12| The Dirty Dozen

For those interested in Enotria: The Last Song, Jyamma Games has released a statement to the Italian media. This is the english translation (ignore any errors if there are any, I’m Italian too 😅) "Jyamma Games officially apologizes to all Xbox players. We are well aware that the news of the...

forum.xboxera.com

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

I've updated the OP with the new info that came via Eurogamer. I've also requested a thread title change to reflect the new info.

 

[thismeinteil]

Interesting philosophical thought experiment. If you release an Xbox version, and no one is there to buy it, did it ever exist in the first place?

 

[sendit]

Huge miss and opportunity for the Enotria team. I believe this game would have propelled Gamepass to new heights.