Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus remake in the works thanks to big PlayStation Plus numbers

By Kris Wouk April 14, 2015

oddworld abes exoddus remake abe — Image used with permission by copyright holder

When Oddworld Inhabitants released its first game, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, in 1997, it married familiar 2D platform mechanics with a visual style that had not yet been seen in games. With so much time having passed, it would have been understandable if last year’s remake, Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty, had failed to recapture the magic, but that was far from the case.

In our review, we called Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty, “the rare remake that improves on the original, thanks to fresh ideas mixed with a still-fresh gameplay foundation.” Now Oddworld Inhabitants has a remake of the second Oddworld game, Abe’s Exoddus in the works.

Oddworld Inhabitants president Lorne Lanning told viewers on a Twitch stream that fans had requested the remake, and that it is currently in the very early stages of development, according to VG247. As with the last game, the name of the remake will be determined by fans.

It seems that there are much higher stakes here than with Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty. The sequel will be more broadly marketed than its predecessor, and its success will determine the quality of future titles, which Oddworld Inhabitants would like to make into AAA productions.

A stronger marketing push will almost certainly be necessary. While Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty did fairly well, a big part of its relative success came from being made free for PlayStation Plus subscribers, which boosted the game to 2.4 million downloads.

No further details on the status of the remake or an expected release date were given, but it’s almost certain that the engine used in last year’s game will be used for the sequel. Abe’s Exoddus was pushed out quickly to meet demand, running on the same engine as Abe’s Oddysee, and that same process will likely be used here.

While the upcoming remake might take longer than the nine months in which Abe’s Exoddus was produced, it probably won’t be another years before we see another Oddworld game.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Gaming

You need to try PlayStation VR2’s most psychedelic game yet

Key art for Akka Arrh shows psychedelic images.

You know that it's a busy year for gaming when a project by an industry legend launches with hardly any fanfare. That's exactly what happened in February 2023 with Akka Arrh. Created by Jeff Minter and his eccentric studio Llamasoft, the neon-tinted shooter is a remake of a 1982 Atari game that never saw the light of day after being deemed too difficult. Minter got the greenlight to revive the project, bringing it to life as a retro arcade shooter built in his unmistakable style.

While the project was exciting for game historians, it didn't exactly crack into the mainstream (it only has 37 user reviews on Steam). Thankfully, Akka Arrh getting a second chance to shine this week as its new PlayStation 5 version adds PlayStation VR2 support. While that might not be enough to make it a commercial hit, it does give PSVR2 owners a good reason to dust off their headset and check out a delightfully oddball project from one of gaming's true visionaries.
It's a trip
Akka Arrh is the rare example of a game that might be easier to explain on paper than in practice. In this throwback arcade shooter, players control a stationary ship that's tasked with protecting pods from attacking aliens. To fend off foes, players drop bombs that blow up in a different geometric pattern on each level's map. Every time an enemy touches that blast radius, it blows up in the same pattern, chaining to other enemies. The goal is to keep an uninterrupted chain going as long as possible by using a limited number of bullets to knock out foes that can't be destroyed by bombs and grabbing power-ups by hovering the cursor over them.

Gaming

PlayStation lays off 900 people and shuts down London Studio

Sony is the latest company in the video game industry to announce massive layoffs in 2024. We've learned that Sony Interactive Entertainment is letting go of about 900 people across several studios; PlayStation's London Studio will shut down as a result.

In a blog post, soon-to-depart Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan says these cuts amount to about 8% of PlayStation's workforce. "Through discussions over the past few months about the evolving economic landscape, changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products, and ensuring our organization is future ready in this rapidly changing industry, we have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable," Ryan explains. "The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success."

Gaming

PC compatibility for the PlayStation VR2 is being tested by Sony

Playstation VR2 headset on a PlayStation-themed wallpaper.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the PlayStation VR2, Sony revealed a new batch of games coming to its virtual reality headset and confirmed that it's testing a feature that would let people play PC VR games on their PSVR2.

"We’re pleased to share that we are currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PSVR2 titles available through PS5," the PlayStation Blog post about PSVR2's first anniversary teases. "We hope to make this support available in 2024, so stay tuned for more updates."