The Gunk Dev Explains Xbox Exclusivity, No Plans to Launch on PlayStation or Switch

Image and Form Games have established themselves as one of the best indie developers in the industry over the years thanks to multiple excellent games in the SteamWorld series, but with their next game, they’re doing something rather different, and much more ambitious. The Gunk is a 3D third person action-adventure game, and it’s been on the minds of many since its recent reveal.

Curiously though, the game has been confirmed as an Xbox console exclusive, leading many to wonder why the developer decided that, and whether The Gunk will eventually release on other consoles as well. These were questions we posted to game director Ulf Hartelius in a recent interview, and got some interesting answers.

Hartelius told us that with The Gunk being some a major step forward for Image and Form Games, they wanted to find a “strong partner.”

“Since making this game is such a big step for us we knew we wanted to find a strong partner and Microsoft had been excited about it since our earliest conversations,” he said.

But will The Gunk eventually fund its way to PlayStation and the Nintendo Switch as well? It doesn’t seem that way. When we asked Hartelius the same, he responded, “Unfortunately not.”

Of course, there’s every chance that plans might change and The Gunk manages to find its way to non-Xbox consoles down the line- but as things seem right now, it seems like console players will only be able to play the game on Xbox.

The Gunk is scheduled to launch in September 2021 for the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC. Stay tuned for our full interview with Hartelius.