The game “Oddworld: Soulstorm” was released in April 2021 for PC, PS4, and PS5. It was one of the first major successes for Sony’s new console PlayStation 5. Nearly 4 million copies of the game are said to have been downloaded. However, the studio’s founder, Lorne Lanning, now says that he made a mistake. The huge success of the game via PS Plus hit the studio hard.
What kind of game is it? Oddworld: Soulstorm is a side-scrolling platformer; it is the successor to a game from 2014.
On Metacritic, the game received only mixed reviews ranging from 73% (PC) to 66% (PS5).
What makes the game so special? Oddworld Soulstorm was one of the first games for the PS5 that could be downloaded and played for free through the “PS Plus” service:
- The 1st PS5 game via PS Plus was released in November 2020, it was “Bugsnax”
- Oddworld: Soulstorm was the PS5 game available for free in April 2021
The developer hoped that hardly anyone would have a PS5 when his game releases
What was the problem? Developer Lorne says he made a mistake with the deal:
It was planned that Oddworld: Soulstorm would be released in PS Plus in January 2021. He thought: Then hardly anyone will have a PS5 and of the few who already own a PS5, maybe 10% – 20% would purchase the game. So it was not many units he would be giving away.
However, the game actually came out in April 2021. By then, significantly more people had a PS5. And due to the Covid pandemic, there was so much demand that millions of people downloaded the game.
We had the most downloaded game on the PS5, in the end, we were close to 4 million units – all for free. Because they are subscriptions. For us, it was totally devastating.
Lorne Lanning
As the developer recounts, Covid hit him and the studio three times:
- Due to Covid, the developers had to work from home, which prolonged development, the studio ran out of resources, more money was needed for development, and they were forced to make the deal with Sony to offer the game for PS Plus.
- Due to Covid, the release was pushed from January 2021 to April 2021 – a time when significantly more people had a PS5.
- Due to Covid, the rush for Oddworld Soulstorm was so high.
For Lorne, the story of how he gave away 4 million units of his game for free is a sign of how things can sometimes go. Nobody had any ill intentions, such was the planet Earth in the years 2020 and 2021.
Grotesque situation: Hoping for as few downloads as possible
Here’s the scoop: Developers like Lorne apparently receive a “fixed sum” from Sony when they release their game for PS Plus. Lorne apparently hoped to achieve “as few free downloads as possible” so that later many would still purchase the game at full price.
So he now feels he has given away 4 million units and that he lost a lot of money.
However, it is questionable how many of the 4 million PS5 players would have actually bought the sidescroller. It is known that with such “subscription models,” many download a game and try it out, even if it does not suit their taste, simply because it is free:
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