It has just been revealed that the upcoming indie game, Oddworld: Soulstorm, is the next Epic Games Store exclusive. The official Twitter account for the series confirmed today the title’s PC version won’t be on Steam. Lorne Lanning, series creator, issued the following statement:
“I would like to address the entire Oddworld community (old and new). You have supported us and our artistic vision for years and we thank you.
Oddworld: Soulstorm will be coming to PC via the Epic Games store. The PC and console versions of the game will have a simultaneous release in 2020.
What I would like to do is provide you with the reasoning that went into bringing the PC version of Soulstorm to the Epic Games store as an exclusive because you deserve to know.
We’ve been financing Soulstorm 100% ourselves. Soulstorm is our most ambitious game ever and we are committed to creating a great game that meets the highest level of quality. But to create the version of Soulstorm we want, and you deserve, we needed additional financial assistance.
Ambition is important, and it pushes me to try to overachieve. What pushes me even more is my committmemt to you: you deserve great games. As an indie publisher, we must evaluate partnerships that will help us achieve or goals while protecting our vision for Soulstorm and the quintology. Epic supports our goal and commitment and is willing to help us achieve them by providing us with an advance on our PC sales, and we are incredibly greatful.
Thank you for reading.”
Oddworld: Soulstorm
Oddworld: Soulstorm joins a long-running list of titles that are launching only on the Epic Games Store or with a timed exclusivity. This has caused quite a bit of debate amongst the PC gaming community with many calling for boycotts and other forms of protests. Despite these efforts, there have not been any direct sales impacts that have been noticeable.