Oddworld: Soulstorm, it turns out, was one of those games. Speaking recently in an interview with YouTube channel Xbox Expansion Pass, Oddworld Inhabitants CEO and co-founder Lorne Lanning explained that as a result of circumstances beyond anyone’s control, Oddworld: Soulstorm being free on PlayStation Plus for a month after its launch turned out to be “devastating” for the studio.

Lanning stated that the developer entered into an agreement with Sony for financial reasons after struggling with “technical debt, legacy issues, and talent issues” during development, following which the plan was to launch the game by January 2021, at which point Oddworld Inhabitants didn’t expect the game to be downloaded by a large number of people, thus leaving plenty of scope for actual sales (and the resulting revenue) down the road. However, when COVID hit and brought about workplace restrictions, several things were impacted.

“We needed the money to complete the project and we thought we did a pretty good deal because we got this much money,” Lanning said (transcribed by Wccftech). “We thought in January there was no way we’ll sell more than this, the most we could sell is less than the money we could get, so we did the deal. Now through no fault of Sony’s COVID happened and this delayed us from January to April.

“The deal was still for one free month. What we thought was that we might maybe sell 50K units at launch or maybe a hundred thousand; it was pretty small numbers because it wasn’t going to be a lot of PS5s and lockdown looked like it was going to affect the number of machines manufactured as well, so there would be shortages at retail which for our deal would be kind of a good thing.

“Then there wouldn’t be as many game machines out there to get the free game, but because it slipped to April, we had the highest downloaded game on PlayStation 5 with Oddworld: Soulstorm. It was approaching at the end of the day close to four million units or something like that for free because they were all subscribers. For us it was devastating and so that’s how kind of the economies work.”

Later on in 2021, Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition also came out, and launched for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One in addition to PS5, PS4, and PC as well. There’s no word yet on how (or if) the game’s launch on additional platforms affected its sales.

March 2021 is already almost over, as hard as it is to believe. While it’s sad how fast the passage of time can often feel, it does mean that all those services that gives out games rolls over to another month. Such is the case for Sony’s PlayStation Plus, as a new slate of games have been announced for the month.

Probably the headliner for the month is Days Gone. The open world zombie title from Sony Bend came out in 2019 and has gotten various updates since then, including an impressive PS5 patch for those who are playing on the system. Keeping up with the zombie theme is Zombie Army 4: Dead Army, the newest entry in the alt history war franchise where zombie nazis took over in World War 2. Rounding it off is Oddworld: Soulstorm, which will release day and date with the game’s launch on the service. Keep in mind, Oddworld will only be the PS5 version despite launching on both PS4 and PS5, though you can still redeem the game for later use even if you don’t currently have a PS5.

These games will be redeemable on PS5 and PS4 starting on April 6th and will run until May 3rd.

Days Gone and Zombie Army 4: Dead War are your PS4 PlayStation Plus games for April, with Oddworld: Soulstorm also available for PS5: https://t.co/WlVLGGMOQg pic.twitter.com/nRH2euYAn1

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 31, 2021

2020 was supposed to be a grand return to Oddworld with the latest entry in the franchise, Soulstorm. It was not to be, however, as the game, like so many last year, got hit with a delay hammer. We have been seeing footage from it since then, and now we know when to expect it. And those with a PS5 and PS Plus, you get a special bonus.

As announced on today’s State of Play, the game will be coming to us in April. It was revealed in a video that highlighted some gameplay as well as some voiceover by the game’s Creative Director. It will also come to PC via Epic Games Store as well. Those who have a PS5 and PS Plus will also be able to redeem that version of the game as part of the April slot of games.

Oddworld: Soulstorm will release on April 6th for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC. Only the PS5 version will seemingly be available to redeem with a PS Plus subscription for April.

The PS5 version of Oddworld: Soulstorm is one of your PlayStation Plus games for April!

Full details on Abe’s the weird & wonderful quest to liberate his fellow Mudokons: https://t.co/IIfMEtZP5A pic.twitter.com/kp9vwOCfKr

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 25, 2021

Oddworld: Soulstorm, a ground up reimagining of Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus (to the point that it’s basically a completely new game) was one of many games that Sony showed off at their recent PS5 reveal event. A new trailer provided key details on its narrative, along with giving us brief glimpses of the game itself- from the little that we saw, it certainly looks impressive. Check it out below.

Over on the PlayStation blog, a post by series creator and Soulstorm creative director Lorne Lanning has dropped some interesting details on the game. Along with tidbits of its storytelling and the promise of “stunning graphical fidelity,” he says the game will make use of the PS5’s 3D audio, while also teasing progression mechanics, light RPG elements, and what is described as “a new standard for next-generation action adventure platformers.”

Oddworld: Soulstorm will be releasing later this year for the PS5, PS4, and PC. On PC, it will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store. You can get more information on the game in our interview with the developers through here.