We Happy Few will also be released on PlayStation 4 on April 13 of next year when the game is fully released, according to a blog post from the PlayStation blog.
Along with officially coming to the PlayStation 4, the game will also be published by Gearbox Publishing. It’s developer firm, Gearbox Software, is known for the Borderlands franchise, the Duke Nukem franchise, Battleborn and more. It is being developed by Compulsion Games, an independent developer from Canada.
“The biggest advantage of working with them [Gearbox Publishing] is that we’re coming to retail, and we have a partner that understands how to do that. So, if you want to buy a retail PS4/Xbox One version, you can. Also, we’re finally able to commit to a PS4 version, and we are delighted to bring the game to the many, many people who have asked for this. It’s been a little hard keeping quiet about it, but we’re glad to be here now,” said Compulsion Games in a blog post from their official website.
In We Happy Few, players take on the stories of three different people who want to escape Wellington Wells, a town where its residents are force-fed pills filled with joy (quite literally). This renders a user unable to realize the horrors occurring around them. The player must keep themselves alive while venturing through the town without getting caught by the police or other residents.
As shown in the PlayStation 4 announcement trailer, if a player or resident is caught, they will be cruelly beaten by police and will be forced to take the joy pill, regardless of any resistance.
“We Happy Few‘s psychedelic, retro-futuristic world is procedurally generated, so you’ll never experience the same gameplay twice. The world of Wellington Wells is populated by colorful, complex characters and rich questlines, making each playthrough a unique experience,” said Meredith Hershey, community coordinator of Gearbox Publishing (Gearbox Software’s publishing firm) in the PlayStation blog post.
We Happy Few originally started as a Kickstarter project, according to its official Kickstarter page. It managed to make over CA$330,000 (surpassing its original goal of CA$250,000 from over 7,000 backers). Backers of the project will be receiving a special reward for donating to the project in the first place once We Happy Few gets a full release.
“For Kickstarter backers, we wanted to make sure that you received the Season Pass for free. None of this would be possible without you. And, as a small surprise for the beer tier, to prove that even a little support has a big impact, we’re sending all of you a free digital copy of the game. Thank you for believing in us,” said Compulsion Games in their own blog post.
The game will also be receiving its own DLC, which will be discussed more once the game officially launches in April. For the PlayStation 4, players can purchase the We Happy Few Deluxe Edition to get access to a Season Pass for DLC.
“DLC for us is not ‘carving out existing content’; it’s building new content that we wouldn’t have been able to do as part of the main game. It’s risky, because now that we’ve announced it we’ve committed to it. It’s our first time doing it, so maybe in a year we’ll have a different opinion. In the meantime, once work on the game finishes up, we’ll have a bit of a rest, and then dive into the wacky world of DLC,” said Compulsion games in their own blog post.
Currently, We Happy Few is only available in early access for Windows. Once it releases, it will be released on Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on April 13 of next year. You can find it in the Steam store for $50.99.
Featured image via Flickr/BagoGames.