In a concerted effort to respond to some of the common questions, we need to give you all a catch up on what’s happening with Munch, Stranger, the xBox 360 and XBLA.

We’ve spoken openly in the past of how OWI and the Oddworld games are platform-agnostic (as in, we release on any platform that will have our games). We announced at Eurogamer Expo 2012 that New ‘n’ Tasty will be on PS3, Vita, PC and XBLA. So why aren’t our old games on Microsoft’s console? To put it simply… Microsoft.

Here’s the short, simplified version.

When Just Add Water started work on the HD version of Stranger’s Wrath, we contacted Sony about getting the game on the PS3. We heard back from them in a matter of days, happy at the prospect of Oddworld returning to its spiritual home. Microsoft contact us shortly after we announced the PS3 version about getting the game on their platform, but that we had to go through their submission process. It took nine weeks for Microsoft to get back to us, with a list of reasons rejecting the game for either Live Arcade or Games on Demand. Many of the requirements were easily fixable, such as adding achievements, but getting the game below the 2GB XBLA limit proved an issue. But because the original game didn’t sell over a million copies, we weren’t eligible for Games on Demand either. We also tried our luck with Munch’s Oddysee HD and ran into the same issues.

As it stands, JAW have managed to get the file size of Stranger’s Wrath HD down to below 2GB using better compression and other trickeries, yet Microsoft remain silent when we ask for an answer. All we can think is they just aren’t bothered. You can read more in the Eurogamer interview that took place in June of 2012. We are obviously very proud and happy that New ‘n’ Tasty has been approved by the XBLA approvals team over at Microsoft HQ and look forward to giving the fans on all sides the game they deserve.