The global coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on this small studio, forced to work from home during all these months of development.
The first news about Abe’s return with Oddworld: Soulstorm placed him earlier this year on PS4 and PC, a launch window, which, obviously, he has not been able to fulfill. Since then the news has been scarce, but fortunately we can already give an approximate launch date for the new adventure of an icon of the first PlayStation, and Oddworld Inhabitants has confirmed that it will arrive this next spring.
The coronavirus has affected development
In an official note posted on Twitter, Lorne Lanning, co-founder of the study, wanted to explain the reasons for this delay of practically a year. “Oddworld: Soulstorm is the greatest game we’ve ever made, which is exciting and stressful at the same time,” Lanning begins by explaining. “The team has lowered its head to work on it to bring it to you as soon as possible without sacrificing quality, I am very proud of them and the work we are creating.”
Yesterday, we posted a video statement by Oddworld Inhabitants co-founder and president @lorne_lanning, but we thought posting a written one wouldn’t hurt. Thank you to those who have stuck by us, especially during this crazy year. Spring 2021, here we go! #OddworldSoulstorm pic.twitter.com/huwI8LS7HN
– Oddworld (@OddworldInc) December 11, 2020
Soulstorm is almost finished. The levels and the story are finished, ”he continues. “We are now focusing on implementing new features and balancing others, as well as fixing bugs. “I know you know that we are an indie studio, and that for the last 10 months we have been working from home. By not being able to share a space, this has slowed down the process, but we needed this extra time to improve the experience.
In addition, Lanning adds that they could have reached the PS5 launch, but preferred to delay the game a few extra months so that it could live up to the expectations of new hardware. This new installment represents a reimagining of the classic Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus, with much more than a mere graphic improvement. Many of its characters will have new abilities, apart from that there will be others completely unpublished. To this we will have to add a new inventory system with looting and crafting, as well as a camera that, according to Lanning, “will be able to reflect Abe’s scale and his epic journey.”
Thus, Oddworld: Soulstorm will arrive on PS4, Xbox One, PS5 and PC -via Epic Games Store- this coming spring 2021.
