Oddworld: Soulstorm PlayStation Plus deal “devastating” for developer While many see the inclusion of their game on Sony’s PlayStation Plus service as a real boon, others feel less so.In fact, Oddworld Inhabitants’ Lorne Lanning has revealed that getting Oddworld: Soulstorm on PS Plus was “devastating” for the team.Chatting to Xbox Expansion Pass , Lanning said his team initially thought they would sell roughly 50k units of Oddworld: Soulstorm, and certainly no more than 100k.The studio was also looking for some financial help to keep the game alive, and as such, when Sony approached the team offering an undisclosed amount of money to put its game on PS Plus for its release month, Lanning jumped at the chance.However, the game’s release was delayedby three months due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic.And with the game’s later release, Lanning said, more people than previously estimated now had access to a PlayStation 5.As a result, Lanning revealed Oddworld: Soulstrom was downloaded almost 4m times through PS Plus, vastly overshooting the teams’ expectations.”For us, it was devastating,” Lanning claimed.
Following its release on PC and PlayStation consoles in April 2021, Oddworld: Soulstorm went on to launch on Xbox in the November.Lanning, however, did not disclose how the game sales compared on Xbox.
You can listen to Lanning’s full interview below.When Donlan reviewed Oddworld: Soulstorm , he called it a “slightly patchy adventure”, but one that was “typically heartful”.
“The enduring point of Oddworld is that its most horrific elements are not remotely fictional, and that it uses fantasy to refocus our attention on the bizarre horrors of our own world.”Back in the day, Oddworld seemed to want more from games, and from its players and it still does.That’s worth giving it a little leeway on [Oddworld: Soulstorm’s] rough edges and missteps, I reckon.” Will you support Eurogamer? We want to make Eurogamer better, and that means better for our readers – not for algorithms.You can help! Become a supporter of Eurogamer and you can view the site completely ad-free, as well as gaining exclusive access to articles, podcasts and conversations that will bring you closer to the team, the stories, and the games we all love.
Subscriptions start at £3.99 / $4.99 per month..