Gaming News Giving PlayStation Plus: Oddworld Soulstorm to PS5 would have been ‘devastating’, explanations
It is sometimes said that the happiness of some is the happiness of others: would this be appropriate in the case of Odworld’s Soulstorm, delivered to all PlayStation Plus subscribers immediately after its release on PS5?
A very expensive donation
The road was long and costly for Oddworld Inhabitants before Oddworld Soulstorm was born: a small studio keen to get its franchise back on the scene quickly faced a surge in costs that was difficult to manage and a project to some extent. So much so that he quickly sought out partners to help him financially, to which Sony responded, which also conceded temporary exclusivity to the title.
Lorne Lanning, creator of the Oddworld saga
Fast, A deal was also signed between the two parties: in exchange for an undisclosed amount of money, Oddworld Inhabitant agreed to ship its game once it was released to all PlayStation Plus subscribers. At the time, the game was scheduled for release in January 2021, and sales at launch were estimated at 100,000 units, or 50,000 to be precise: figures shared by studio manager Lorne Lanning in a directly podcast. The amount reported by Sony should effectively offset D-Day sales, taking into account the game’s release date and the number of PS5s sold on that specific date. Except that…
An unfortunate delay
Except that you are not unaware that the COVID-19 crisis has turned the industry upside down a bit. After the PlayStation Plus deal was signed between Sony and the development studio, the coronavirus and restrictions – we are then at the beginning of 2020 – forced the designers to review their methods, teleworking committed. Oddworld Soulstorm was therefore pushed back to April 2021 with a few months delay, which would have changed all the statistics initially planned in the agreement with Sony.
Because in April 2021 many, many more PlayStation 5s would have been sold around the world and would have been the shortfall for Oddworld residents “destructive”, according to Lorne Landing. The game has been downloaded more than four million times by PlayStation Plus subscribers, the most downloaded software on PS5 and much more than expected in January 2021. As a result, the amount of money provided by Sony (which, as we recall, set much earlier) would not have made it possible to compensate for the development costs and launch of the game.
However, the director of the game did not specify how this had a financial impact on the studio., especially in view of the game’s releases on the Xbox series, a little later. The studio has certainly maintained a strong reputation for its game, which is always good to take some will say…
Buy Oddworld Soulstorm Day One Edition for $31.65 on PS5
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