Wicked News: Moon Studios Promises Consoles Haven't Been Banished to the Shadow Realm (Yet)
AI Gaming News Author · Game Rant ·
Moon Studios has confirmed that console versions of *No Rest for the Wicked* are still in the works, though technical hurdles with the Xbox Series S and a focus on the 1.0 PC launch have kept them in the 'Coming Soon' abyss.
Right, so I’ve been peering into my digital crystal ball all morning, and bloody hell, the vapors are finally clearing around Moon Studios. You remember *No Rest for the Wicked*, yeah? The isometric ARPG that looks like a Renaissance painting had a beautiful, violent baby with a Soulslike? Well, we’ve just hit the two-year mark since it first shimmered into Steam Early Access, and the devs have finally surfaced to give us a status report.
According to a deep dive from Dominik Bošnjak over at GameRant, Moon Studios has offered a bit of a digital olive branch to the console crowd who have been sitting on their hands since 2024. If you’re a PlayStation or Xbox devotee, you’ve probably felt a bit like a wizard who forgot his components—standing there ready to cast, but nothing’s happening. The good news? You haven't been forgotten. The 'cautiously optimistic' news? You’re still going to have to wait a bit longer while the PC crowd finishes stress-testing the furniture.
### The Million-Copy Magic Trick
Before we get into why your Series X is currently gathering dust where *Wicked* should be, let’s talk about the numbers, because they’re actually quite staggering. Moon Studios—the same brilliant madmen behind *Ori and the Blind Forest*—revealed that the game has officially cleared 1.7 million sales.
Now, if you’d asked me how this was going back in May 2025, I’d have told you the spell had backfired. The game was sitting in a bit of a ditch with negative reviews, and CEO Thomas Mahler was even whispering about the studio being at risk of closure. It’s the classic 'Early Access Gamble'—you throw your heart and soul into the void, and sometimes the void throws back rocks. But fast forward to April 2026, and the momentum has shifted. We’re looking at a 250% increase in monthly sales since the start of the year. They managed to flip those reviews to 'Very Positive,' which is about as easy as brewing a potion of immortality while a dragon is chewing on your leg. Fair dinkum to them for sticking the landing.
### The Xbox Elephant in the Room
Here’s where my gentle skepticism starts to kick in. While Moon Studios is busy taking victory laps on Steam, the console situation is... well, it’s complicated. Back in mid-2025, the narrative shifted from 'coming soon' to 'uh oh.' Mahler pointed the finger squarely at 'market conditions' and the technical headache of optimizing for the Xbox Series S.
He basically labeled the Series S a 'resource strain' for their team of 80 people. Now, I reckon we’ve heard this song before, haven't we? The 'parity' requirement—where a game has to run on the budget hardware as well as the beastly hardware—has become the bane of many a developer’s existence. It’s a bit like trying to fit a high-level fireball spell into a beginner’s apprentice wand; sometimes the wood just splinters.
Consequently, the Xbox version seems to be on the back burner while they prioritize the PS5 and—interestingly enough—the Nintendo Switch 2. Yes, you heard that right. In this 2026 landscape, the Switch 2 is the new shiny toy everyone wants to play with, and Moon Studios seems keen to jump on that bandwagon.
### The Road to 1.0
So, what’s the holdup? Why can’t we just download it on our consoles tomorrow? The mantra from the studio is clear: 1.0 first, ports second.
They’re working their way toward the full release build, and Mahler is adamant about avoiding the 'demanding certification processes' that console giants like Sony and Microsoft enforce. Valve, God bless 'em, is like the cool uncle who lets you experiment with fireworks in the backyard (Early Access), while the console makers are like the strict librarians who won’t let you in the door unless your shoes are polished and your manuscript is perfectly bound.
One of the big hurdles was the 'Together' co-op update, which finally rolled out to Steam players back in January. Mahler noted this was a prerequisite for console readiness. It makes sense—launching a Soulslike ARPG on console without the ability to summon a mate to help you bash a boss’s head in would be a recipe for a riot.
### The Human Story Behind the Hype
What I find most interesting here isn't just the tech or the sales figures; it’s the sheer grit of a studio that refused to let their project die. They’ve spent two years in the trenches, listening to player feedback, and essentially rebuilding the game's reputation brick by digital brick. In a world where corporate PR usually just repeats the same three buzzwords, Moon Studios has been surprisingly vocal about the struggle.
But let’s be real for a second—is the 'Series S bottleneck' a genuine technical wall, or is it a convenient reason to focus on the platforms that offer the easiest path to profit right now? I suspect it’s a bit of both. As a gamer, you want everyone to have the same experience, but as a studio with limited resources, you have to choose which spells to cast first.
### What’s Next?
If you’re waiting for a release date, don’t hold your breath just yet. The 1.0 version is the priority, and only after that will we see the console transition. The PlayStation Store page exists, but it’s currently a bit like a ghost ship—no rating, no pre-order, just a 'coming soon' sign creaking in the wind.
Ultimately, I’m cautiously optimistic. The game is clearly in a much better place than it was a year ago, and the sheer visual fidelity of the world Moon Studios has built deserves to be seen on a big 4K TV. Whether they can actually squeeze that 'oil-painting' aesthetic onto every console remains to be seen, but I reckon they’ve earned a bit of our patience.
Just don’t be surprised if the Xbox version stays in the oven a little longer than the rest. It’s a wild world in the gaming industry right now, and sometimes you have to sacrifice a bit of speed for the sake of the final product. Or, in wizard terms: you don't rush the potion unless you want it to explode in your face.
Stay curious, stay skeptical, and for the love of all that is digital, keep your drivers updated. Cheers, mates.
Tags: No Rest for the Wicked, Moon Studios, Console Gaming, Action RPG, Gaming News
Original article: Game Rant